The mid-atlantic craft beer scene has been steadily growing in the last few years with local brewers quickly popping up and charming their way into the local liquor store’s beer coolers. Maryland’s scene has yet to disappoint, with breweries that are unafraid to focus on the full range of beer, from traditional lagers and innovative belgians to the wildly experimental ‘extreme’ stouts and alt ales. Last year, the crown jewel of Maryland’s beer scene, the growing Baltimore Beer Week was a clear illumination that beer enthusiasts in Baltimore and the surrounding counties are more than worthy of being taken seriously by their counterparts in California and New York. This year, The Baltimore Beer Week is ten days packed with an astounding 340 separate events. Unlike some weeks in cities like Los Angeles, Portland, and Boston, Baltimore Beer Week was founded to focus intimately on the growing brew scene in the B-more metro area.
Baltimore Beer week got off to an amazing start last thursday, as Ace of Cakes (Charm City Cakes) star Duff Goldman opened the ceremonial keg with the traditional huge mallet. The party took place at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, overlooking Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. While the party was short, the ceremony featured a firkin of Heavy Seas Loose Cannon, winner of the 2010 CAMRA real ale award. While tickets were sold out impressively fast, local media covered the event and pictures of Duff taking a swack even made it to celebrity gossip mega site TMZ.
In the past weekend alone, there have been over 130 events, including the DAS best October Fest, which will be climbing its way up the east coast and making an appearance in Manhattan on October 23rd and 24th. Most of the events are sponsored or spotlight a particular brewery, but there’s more than enough variety to please. Here, local breweries that are just getting into regional distribution like Oliver Ales, Stillwater Artisinal, and The Brewer’s Art are given an incredible platform next to household brands like Victory, Oskar Blues, and Tröegs. Even regional submacro (and pre-pabst king of lawnmower beers) National Bohemian has gotten in on the fun, sponsoring five events over the course of this week. Programming highlights include the Heavy Seas events for their ongoing dedication to their pirate aesthetic, Flying Dog’s ongoing haunted pub crawl of suburban Baltimore, and Lagunitas who came all the way from California to have a charity chug-off for the ASPCA.
While the area’s weekday events range from the basic main street happy hours to an absolutely amazing pirate pub crawl (don’t forget to bring an eye-patch), if you’re curious about mid-atlantic brews and how they compare to your favorite sud, there’s no need to fret over weekday traffic on the I-95. Baltimore Beer week culminates next weekend in a boozy double tap of the Cheseapake Real Ale festival at the Pratt Street Ale House on next Saturday, and the Baltimore Beer Festival in Baltimore’s Canton region on Sunday. Tickets for each event are still available for around $30, with provisional tickets around $10 for designated drivers.
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