Federal Hill, Baltimore, Maryland

I spent Thursday, September 3 exploring the beer scene in Baltimore, MD.  My friend Shawn from Pocomoke lives on Light Street, which is the perfect stepping off point for the pubs, taverns, and restaurants of Federal Hill.  This is a fun neighborhood and we found a great selection of microbrews wherever we stopped.

My friend Mark and I were looking for a place to catch some of the Ravens game, and Shawn steered us to the Don’t Know Tavern.  I was tempted by the Dogfish Head, but decided to join Mark and Shawn for a round of Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale, a tasty American IPA from Chico, CA.   We were talking about drinking great beer and Shawn said he could take us to a place with a list of beers we’ve never heard of.  We scoffed and took up the challenge!

The Metropolitan was our next stop.  Our jaws dropped at the collection of rare and offbeat brews on tap!  I chose the Hennipen, a Saison from Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY.  Shawn ordered an impressive Imperial IPA from Smuttynose (11%).  We didn’t stick around long enough to thoroughly explore the beer menu, but I’ll be back.

We wanted pizza, so we walked over to the Pub Dog Pizza and Drafthouse.  I loved their Dog Deal – two mugs of the same beer at the same time for only $4. It was hard to pick one from the long line-up of their house beers, but I started with two mugs of Hoppy Dog (American Pale Ale), which went perfectly with my Wing Dog Pizza.  I traded one of those away to Shawn for a Brown Dog.  Next I ordered two mugs of Black Dog (Stout), and traded one to Mark for a Thirsty Ale (English-style Ale).  All of the beers were great, the service was outstanding, and the pizza was delicious.

I can’t wait to get back to Federal Hill – there’s a hidden gem of a beer scene here that is not to be missed.