I awoke pretty early on Saturday morning (around 7:30 a.m.) to make breakfast. I always like being loaded with beer-absorbing carbohydrates before we set off on a 6-hour drinking marathon. Our plan for the day was to visit a few favorites prior to the show, spend the night, and kick off Sunday by meeting some friends at the nearby brand new Guinness Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House before hitting up a few other places on our way out of the city. Oddly enough, our hotel turned out being about 4 miles from the new Guinness digs. I'd met the marketing manager of the new Guinness facility a few months prior when he visited Tröegs to talk marketing with me and take a tour of the brewery.
But more on all of this later. Trust me.
Our first stop of the day was Peabody Heights. We first visited back in August when we were down for the Dweezil Zappa show at Rams Head Live (yet another example of music and beer converging). It reminded me of old-time Baltimore, and I overheard as part of the tour rolled by that the brewery is situated in the outfield of the old Oriole Park. I'd actually recommend taking a quick detour to read about the history of the brewery, its connection with baseball, and its brewing philosophy. It's pretty interesting stuff! While the vibe of this place hearkens back to the old days, its beers are forward-thinking, flavorful, and anything but outdated. They do offer a few "classics" by way of the Old Oriole Park series, such as a Pilsner and Blonde ale. Kind of like the sink in the bathroom. And here I thought Race Street was the only brewery to have one of these blasts from the past!
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| "I am a vintage industrial hand sink." |
First up was Bash Bros, a double dry-hopped DIPA with loads of Citra and Mosaic. OK, they captured my attention pretty easily with that description. This is the third beer in a line inspired by the Mighty Ducks (I'm assuming this refers to the movie about a rag-tag youth hockey team starring Emilio Estevez, which I've both seen and enjoyed... you know me and underdog sports movies)! This sucker was intensely juicy with a soft mouthfeel and full-on citrusy hop nose. Given its high profile grapefruit note, it proved a great beer with which to start off the day, even though we were a few hours beyond breakfast time.
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| Pleeps getting in on the action at Peabody Heights. |
Speaking of breakfast beers, Brewslut had been working on a pour of a concoction called POST, a huge double-digit ABV Imperial Stout. Thick and super rich due to the five gallons of maple syrup used to brew this beast, this coffee-forward stout boasts a strong espresso bean aroma and a chocolate brownie lavishness. This was probably the closest thing I've ever had to Pizza Boy's excellent Sunny Side Up. It was a pure joy to drink, to say the least.
We ended our visit with two small 5-oz. beer pours. I decided on Stiddle Ficks, a Baltic porter with cinnamon and molasses. I could have done without the cinnamon, as the spiciness kind of detracted from the molasses and thinned it out a bit. Brewslut opted for a Kettle Sour, which was kind of a non-descript Berliner Weisse-esque ale. Unfortunately, neither were met with our enthusiasm for our first two beers.
After some fine beers at Peabody Heights, it was time to ship off to our second stop of the day. We'd been to Monument City last August, which was also our virgin visit. Last time, they were having an event called "Cask Your Vote," whereby they asked customers to vote for their favorite variation of the same beer using different adjunct ingredients and served from firkins. Since that seemed like a fun thing to do at the time, we kind of blew off the brewery's core beers. This time, we stuck with the beers on the board because, well, we had to.
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| What I want to be in my next life. |
Sober Me: "God damn, that beer sounds awesome!"
Future Drunk Me: "Yeah, but it's 10% and you still have two more places to go, then you have to stand for about four hours and air drum."
Sober Me: "Good point." Two seconds pass. "Fuck that noise. I'm getting it!"And thus ended my self-imposed dilemma. As a matter of fact, I should hail Satan for deciding to order this beer, because it was FREAKING DELICIOUS! Everything I enjoyed about a BA stout was featured in this beer: a whiskey-soaked coffee/chocolate aroma; a complex malt character; a slick, viscous mouthfeel; and a smooth finish with a hint of vanilla and moderate oaky, boozy tang. This sucker had the added benefit of a hint of smoke and sweet tobacco in the finish, two characteristics I love to find in Imperial Stouts. There was also a slight spicy note courtesy of the rye, which added more depth to the complexity of this beer. Well done, Monument City!
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| What's on Tap at Monument City. |
Meanwhile, Brewslut was working on something light and refreshing - a Gose with lime and lemon. She was digging it quite a bit, especially because it was a bit stuffy inside the tasting room. What I want to know, though, is this: Who puts lime before lemon when describing the flavor of something? To me, that's like saying, "I'm hungry for a jelly and peanut butter sandwich." Lime and Lemon just sounds so unnatural to me. Maybe they could call it Limon, although they might get a cease and desist letter from Sprite. In short, lemon lime is the preferred nomenclature.
Sorry for that little tirade. I don't want to detract from the beer, because it was, indeed, quite tasty. Gotta inject a bit of levity into the mix, right?
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| Two out of three Pleeps agree it's lemon lime! |
We concluded our visit with a half pour of the year-round Battle IPA. This traditional American IPA features loads of late-addition Cascade, Centennial and Columbus hops for a huge floral and piney finish. This one was a bit too harsh for me, flavor-wise. I got more of a bitter, herbal character from the hops that frankly I'm not really used to anymore with all of the citrus and tropical fruit-forward hops out on the market today. I don't want to say it wasn't well-executed; it just wasn't exactly my cup of tea. Everyone has their own idea of what an IPA should taste like, and this one simply didn't overlap with what I'd consider my ideal IPA. So, no harm and no foul.
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| Inside Monument City |
Although I enjoyed all of the breweries we visited in Baltimore, I was most excited to get back to Diamondback. When we arrived, I was stoked to see Green Machine, its house IPA on tap. Dry-hopped with Citra and Ella, this beautiful IPA is juicy and citrusy with notes of grapefruit, grass, and orange peel. It's got such a soft mouthfeel and smooth finish. Man, I love this beer and will easily go on record and say this is up there with anything from Tree House I've ever had. So, I had to order one. Full pint, of course!
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| Green Machine: Holdin' on for dear life! |
There were two other DIPAs on the menu. Needless to say, we had to try both, so we ordered short pours of each. The first was Less Than Supper, a soft, juicy West Coast DIPA. This struck me as a NE-style IPA due to its characteristic haze and hop character. The other was Hop Broth, an American DIPA hopped with Citra, Mosaic, El Dorado and Vic Secret. You know, all the heavy hitters for an intense hop profile. The aroma reeked of citrus and tropical fruit, melon Jolly Rancher candy, and peach. It had a nice silky smooth texture and slid down into my gullet effortlessly. I definitely preferred this over Less Than Supper, although both were enjoyable. I was glad to see they had cans of Hop Broth available, of which we happily purchased a 4-pack.
While sitting at the bar, Brewslut noticed a guy who frequents Al's of Hampden regularly. He and his female companion were chatting with another couple next to us, and I eventually heard the topic of music come up. When I chimed in, he made the connection with my wife. "I knew I knew you from somewhere!" he exclaimed. See? Brewslut's kind of famous too! Turns out he's from the Harrisburg area and, indeed, visits Al's frequently. So this all helped pass the time while we enjoyed our beers at Diamondback.
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| This could easily be Pleeps' family crest. |
After a quick stop at a nearby record store (where I managed to pick up a rarely seen LP version of Kiss' Hot in the Shade album, among a few others), we made the short walk to Max's Taphouse. Anyone who follows craft beer knows this place. It's the Monk's of Baltimore. Their tap list is insane. Their bottle list is equally impressive. To call it a craft beer institution would not be an overstatement. I can't imagine ever visiting Baltimore without having at least one beer here. Speaking of one beer, this would be a one-and-done stop, too, as we needed to get to the show.
Perusing the beer list, I noticed something called Tennessee Jeppe & the Thoroughbred Hillbilly, a beer credited to a brewery called Blackberry Farm. I was familiar with this brewery because someone (probably Awet or James) brought a bottle of its Classic Saison to a Team D(r)INK bottle share more than two years ago (thanks Untappd) and I remembered it being amazing. It takes a lot for me to remember any beer from memory unless it totally blows me away. So bonus points for me, who typically is unable to remember a person's name three seconds after meeting them. Based on this singular encounter with the brewery, I decided to throw caution to the wind and order a beer I knew would be pretty expensive. Turns out it's a collaboration with Evil Twin Brewing (Jeppe in the beer's name was my first hint). The beer itself is a dark, rich Imperial Stout brewed with Muddy Pond sorghum syrup and malt smoked by Allan Benton of Benton's Country Hams. As anticipated, it was quite enjoyable. Plus I was able to rack up another double digit ABV beer today (this one clocks in at 11.3%). I win.
The beer Brewslut wanted had recently kicked, so she settled on a beer named POG NOG from Decadent Ales based out of NY. Another collaboration beer (this one, with a bottle shop called Beer Noggin to commemorate its 2nd Anniversary), this DIPA is a "tropical jubilee" (their words, not mine) dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic plus additions of pineapple, orange zest, and guava. "Inspired by the islands of Hawaii," read the description. This one definitely packed quite a tropical punch, with pineapple at the forefront. It was slick and perfectly carbonated, and also quite tasty as you might imagine.
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| Pleeps nippin' at Brewslut's POG NOG. |
Since Fells Point only monitored parking meters until 8 p.m., we decided to leave our car parked near Max's and walk the .8 miles to the venue. Plus if we wanted a post-show beer, we'd be at the right place. Without getting into too many details, the show was enjoyable and I enjoyed Mastodon a bit more than Primus, although both bands were great. Although Mastodon went on before Primus, they seemed to have played considerably longer. After the show, I briefly met Brann Dailor, Mastodon's amazing drummer, near the tour bus parking area as we exited the venue. I got in a handshake and told him I really enjoyed the show. Other people were asking for pictures, but I didn't want to be that guy. After that quick meeting, we headed back to the car and decided to retire to our hotel for the evening. It was a long day, and concerts drain me just a little more each year as I get older.
We had another full day planned for Sunday. As I mentioned earlier, we had planned to meet friends at the new Guinness Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House, then make our way to Union and Waverly (literally right across the street from each other), and maybe Brewer's Art, then finish up with a stop at EverGrain on the way home.
Well, it seems the cosmos had other plans for us on this particular evening.
When we arrived at our hotel (Extended Stay America), we attempted to check in but the attendant on duty didn't have a reservation for us. He was extremely polite and helpful, and explained that there was another Extended Stay American about three blocks away in the same hotel complex. (We were, after all, staying near BWI airport amidst a veritable maze of lodging options.) Thanking him, we left in search of our actual hotel. After a quick two-minute drive, we arrived and parked the car. The office was closed as of 11 p.m. so we had to ring the bell so the attendant could let us in.
Here's the conversation I shared with this attendant at around 12:15 a.m. as we attempted to check in to our room (after waiting for him to terminate what sounded like a personal call on his cell phone):
Me: "Hi, I'm checking in this evening. My name is Jeff Herb, spelled H-E-R-B."
Him: "No more rooms. We're all booked up."
Me: "I have a reservation through Priceline and paid in advance."
Him: "You have to call Priceline."He then proceeded to ignore us and attend to another customer who's microwave was malfunctioning. Flabbergasted (I'm kind of glad this unfortunate episode occurred, because I rarely get to utilize the word "flabbergasted" in its truest context), we exited the hotel and went to our car to try to get in touch with customer service at Priceline.
To refresh your memory, we've had a similar experience two years ago when we visited Portland, Oregon. Care to guess which hotel chain was the culprit then? That's right. Extended Stay America. Unfortunately for us, we typically book using Priceline's "Express Deal" feature, whereby you select a star rating and general area or neighborhood where you'd like to stay, and they select the hotel based on the available options. So the customer doesn't know which hotel he or she is going to get. But given the deep discounts one can achieve using this method of travel booking, it makes sense to roll the dice.
When we finally got through to Priceline's customer service, we were told that since it was after midnight, they couldn't secure another room for us. In the end, they refunded our money (and included a 20% inconvenience credit) and also gave us a 10% coupon for our next hotel reservation. I think we were too tired to argue.
So, we were basically stranded in Baltimore at 12:30 a.m., about two hours away from our house. We called a few other hotels to see if we could find a vacancy, but to no avail. Apparently, "something was going on in Baltimore" this particular weekend as our friend at Extended Stay America later told us. In the end, we decided to drive home and cut our losses. So unfortunately this chapter of the Pour Travels comes to an early conclusion.
You know, some people say "less is more," but I disagree. How can less be more? MORE is more. Yngwie knows what I'm talkin' about. Until next time...
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