Baltimore Beer Week 2012: Opening Tap Celebration, October 19



Rode the Light Rail into Baltimore with Les. We walked to Power Plant Live, which has more than half a dozen bars. I'd never been to Leinenkugel's Beer Garden, so I walked in and looked around. 32 taps. Not bad.

We had some pizza and beer samples at Joe2. The pizzas are square. Hence the name. The beers we tried were:

  1. Flying Dog Secret Stash - nice crisp, hoppy wheat beer
  2. Stillwater Artisanal Ales Why Can't IBU - excellent mega-hoppy flavor and aroma
  3. Duclaw HERO (homebrew contest winning chipotle stout) - good and not overly peppery
  4. Stillwater Artisanal Ales Cellar Door - good and herbally
  5. Union Craft Brewing Black Wing - not bad
  6. Duclaw Mint Chocolate Stout (cask) - good, chocolaty and minty

We then went to the Opening Tap Celebration. There were not only many Maryland-made beers but also a number of imports served by restaurants and importers. I didn't taste all the beers but here are the ones I sampled:

  1. Evolution Menagerie #8 (aged in wine barrels) - nice, malty and oaky
  2. Achouffe La Chouffe - good, estery and sweet
  3. Rodenbach Grand Cru - nice Flanders red
  4. Boulevard Tank 7 - great hoppy beer
  5. Boulevard Single Wide IPA - nice, bitter, crisp and dry
  6. Starr Hill Northern Lights - good hoppy aroma and hoppy/malty flavor
  7. Hofbrau Hefeweizen - good banana/ester/clove flavor and aroma
  8. Heavy Seas The Greater Pumpkin (aged in a barrel) - good, woody and sweet
  9. New Belgium Shift Pale Lager - quite good for a lager
  10. New Belgium Ranger IPA - good, crisp and hoppy
  11. Oliver's Lukie Monster - smooth and drinkable
  12. Oliver's The Sword - not so good
  13. Loose Cannon (in a firkin with either peaches or mangoes) - okay
  14. Union Craft Brewing Balt Alt - smooth, okay
  15. Firestone Walker Union Jack - great hoppy beer
  16. Blue Mountain Full Nelson - basic pale ale
  17. Ballast Point IPA - nice hoppy aroma and flavor
  18. Breckenridge Christmas - okay spiced ale
  19. Sierra Nevada Tumbler - decent brown ale
  20. Unibroue Grand Reserve 17 - nice, Belgiany and complex
  21. Cantillon Kriek - nice cherry gueuze
  22. The Bruery Three French Hens - malty, estery, caramelly and alcoholic
  23. Sierra Nevada / Russian River Brux - Bretty; could use more hops
  24. The Bruery Autumn Maple - good, hoppy and Belgiany
  25. Fraoch Heather Ale - good, quite peaty and somewhat sweet
  26. The Bruery Tart of Darkness - nice, tart, malty and clean
  27. Leinenkugel Lemon Berry Shandy - lemony and fairly good
  28. Bryggeriet Djaeblebryg Gudelos (?) - very good and very malty
  29. De Molen Bommen & Granaten - very good, malty, hoppy and alcoholic
  30. Mikkeler Black Hole (13.1% ABV) - roasty, fruity and a bit peppery
  31. Duclaw Serum - good and hoppy
  32. Angry Orchard Griffin's Bow - good

There was food too.

It rained for a while, and water bubbled up through the floor drain.

Kloby's served pork with a bunch of barbecue sauces. I liked the Carolina the best.

I do not remember walking back to the Light Rail. Or riding the Light Rail. Or riding in Les's vehicle. All I remember is getting dropped off. But I had a great time. I think.