So the family has all gone their way for the evening and I'm contemplating what to do for the evening. Delaware punkin-chunkin, tall ships in Chestertown, quite evening at home or the Brewers Associtation's Brewers Harvest event in Baltimore. Guess which one got the nod?
I do a bit of research to see which brewers will be there, some of their beers and have somewhat of a game plan for the evening.
First, a quick comment on Apple Maps. It looks and sounds nice on my iPhone, but generally (from my experience) its not to be trusted. I put the address into my contacts and took off. It led to a spot 10 blocks away from my destination. Trusting that I'd reached the proper neighborhood, I quickly found the closest parking place. I did save $6 on parking and got a good invigorating walk to and from the event. Wanting to justify my mistake, I thought it would make for a welcomed detox period after a few good beers.
Arriving, finally, to the venue, my first decision was to get the General Admission or VIP. My first time at one of these events I got the GA and then paid an additional fee to get more drinkig tokens. I figured for the additional $10 I would take the six more tokens, access to featured limited brews and be able to go inside 30 minutes early. Sold!
So my first stop was to the always trusted Heavy Seas table. There was Hugh Sisson, the owner of the brewery, pouring some special, one-year aged pumkin ale. Nicely spiced, not too over-bearing. At 10% ABV, it may be a short night.
So I made a quick tour of the layout, noticing brewers that were new to me, beers offered that looked especially interesting and settled on my plan.
First, get a bite to eat. Ok, its me I know, but the have been quite poor. Too much bread, not enough meat, dry and mostly tasteless. I'm not sure if these were the same people at the Frederick event earlier in the year but the result was. I'll be sure to pass next time.
My next stop was at the Monocacy Brewing table. I remembered the Riot Rye from a previous event and really liked it. Ah, that was good. Some other memoral drinks came from Growler's Brew Pub from Gathersburg. They had a very nice porter, so good I went back for the stout. Another one I had to try was the Brewer's Art St. Festivus. I've watched that bottle sitting on the shop shelf for years never getting around to it. Its a nice winter beer with all the necessary spices - I enjoyed it but it is an occasional type beer for me.
The night grew on - I talked, sat, contemplated my beers. In the end, I say I love these events. They are expensive at $50 ($40 for General Admission), that pays for many pints elsewhere. But all these great brewers in one place, not having to walk more than few steps to the next great beer - I'd say priceless, but it did cost me half-a-Franklin. The Myerhoff is a great place to hold this event, with the seating and ample bathrooms - no waiting in the pee line. Cheers!
