Posts Tagged ‘Baltimore Beer Week’
looking forward to wednesday
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
Please join us on Wednesday evening from 6pm at the Metropolitan Coffeehouse and Wine Bar for an Oliver Ales pint night. We’ll have our pumpkin ale, Freddie’s Revenge (A Nightmare On Pratt Street) on cask as well as 3 Lions Ale and Harvest Ale on tap. Come along, have a pint and snag a logo pint glass to add to the several dozen you’ve already picked up this week!
Cheers
Steve
weekend update
Saturday, October 10th, 2009
Saturday. Had to come in to the brewery plenty early today to avoid all of the road closures associated with the Baltimore Marathon. The 5 brews that we’ve put through this week are doing nicely, just one more to go. Tomorrow we’ve got brunch at Victoria Gastro Pub followed by a featured tasting at Max’s and then I have to come in and brew a 3 Lions …. I’m predicting a 3 am finish!!! The good news is that I can grab a few hours sleep before going over to Metropolitan for breakfast. I’m particularly excited about this one because it’s entirely for pleasure … no work involved! (of course the fact that it’s my favorite bar in town doesn’t hurt) and then we’re going to take the rest of the day off! Last night’s pint night at Bare Bones Grill was fun. I’ve known Noel since his days at The Last Chance Saloon. My first ever pint night was there with him so it seems fitting that during the first ever Baltimore Beer Week we start our week of pint nights in Noel’s company! When I got back to the city I made brief visits to Dudas for a Flying Dog and Max’s where I had the excellent Smuttynose Baltic Porter. The ceremonial tapping mallet seems to be a celebrity in its own right now so I joined the throng for a quick photo op. posing with said mallet (although local beer enthusiast/homebrewer Les White seemed reluctant to give it up!) It really is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship and it looks like we’ll get to use it for a ceremonial tapping to kick off the Chesapeake Real Ale Festival here at The Ale House next Saturday. Sweet! I’m sure that many of you will be at the Oktoberfest at the fairgrounds later on so stop by the Oliver Brewery stand for a beer or two and say hello to assistant brewer Justin and the Ale House crew. By all accounts this years attendance should break all previous records so it should be a lot of fun. We have more kegs there than ever before and will have 6 taps pouring so the wait for a beer shouldn’t be too bad! I’m not going to be there this year as I am going to take a little foray over to Kennet Square in Pa for the microbrew fest there …. I couldn’t resist the Connoisseur Session which this year features session beers only (4.5% abv or below). Don’t forget to check out Mark Supik & Co., who make quality tap handles for many local breweries, who are running tours of their workshops today…. it’s a very cool place.
Have a fun weekend
Cheers
Steve
the friday question
Friday, October 9th, 2009
As many of you already know, before coming to the States I was a brewer for the Firkin Brewery pub chain. When I started at The Fowl & Firkin in Coventry I brewed 3 different ales 4.3% Fowl, 5% Cockerel Ale and a 5.6% dark ale. The 4.3 and 5% ales were themed to the Firkin pub in which they were served but the 5.6% ale was common throughout the entire pub estate and had its origins in David Bruce’s original Firkin Brewery in London. What I want to know is what was the name of the 5.6% ale. Up for grabs this week is a night out with the brewery!!! We’re doing pint nights at Metropolitan, Federal Hill on Wednesday night and Bertha’s, Fells Point on Thursday night. The winner is invited to come along to whichever of these events he/she chooses and we’ll pick up the tab up to a value of $40. Please submit one answer only via the comment section below and a preference as to which night you’d like to attend should you win. A winner will be announced on Wednesday morning. Good luck.
Have a fun weekend.
Steve
and away we go…
Friday, October 9th, 2009
Firstly to wrap up yesterday’s question …. the former brewer for Oliver’s who recently won 4 medals at GABF was none other than Mr. Jason Oliver who now brews at Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company in Virginia. Although Jason wasn’t with Oliver’s for too long his tenure here is the stuff of legend, most notably because he spent his final brew day wearing gold speedos … CLASS!!
The first day of BBW went off with a bang! Quite literally, as the USS Constellation fired a cannon as Boog tapped the ceremonial firkin. It didn’t look as if Boog was expecting that, I know I wasn’t … scared the crap out of me and I almost ended up wearing my beer! The party on the Constellation was a perfect start to the first annual Baltimore Beer Week , with a veritable who’s who of the local craft beer scene in attendance. You could not move without tripping over a brewer, bar owner, beer blogger etc. It was a perfect evening to spend with beer loving friends new and old!
Mr. Boog Powell taps the ceremonial firkin aboard the U.S.S. Constellation
Following the opening ceremony we returned to the Pratt Street Ale House for the Brewer’s Association of Maryland kick-off party. As well as having our own beer on tap we featured beers from Brewer’s Art, Clipper City, Brewer’s Alley, Flying Dog, Pub Dog and White Marsh Brewing Co. making for an all Maryland tap line-up, a very satisfying sight. I can think of few better ways to spend an evening than relaxing on the patio of the Ale House, a Maryland craft beer in hand while chatting with the likes of Volker Stewart, Bob Tupper and Tom Cizauskas to name but a few of the beer-centric folk that were present. Good times. Here’s to the next 9 days.
Don’t forget, if you’re anywhere near Ellicott City tonight, I’ll be at a pint night at Bare Bones Grill from 7pm with a firkin of “Dirty Hippy” brown ale. Come say hello and have a beer.
Cheers
Steve
welcome to Baltimore beer week
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
Sandy Mitchell posted an amusing piece, “Top ten signs that you’re taking Baltimore Beer Week too seriously” on his blog, www.beerinbaltimore.blogspot.com. This has inspired me to do our own variation,
Top five signs that it’s Baltimore Beer Week & you work for Oliver Breweries
1) You’re developing a nervous tic.
2) You’re starting to forget what your family look like.
3) You’ve spoken/exchanged e-mails more with representatives of F.P. Winner than you have with your wife.
4) The words “Baltimore Beer Week” make you wince.
5) You wake up @ 3am in a cold sweat, anxious as to whether your logo glassware will arrive in time!
all joking aside, it’s going to be an incredible 10 days. As I’ve mentioned before, the dedication and enthusiasm of a few people have made this all possible, so kudos to them. It’s great to see the enthusiasm with which others have joined in, with the number and variety of events snowballing weekly since the baltimorebeerweek.com website went live. Enjoy but be responsible and savor the incredible craft brewing scene that the region offers.
Cheers
Steve
BAM kick-off party update
Monday, October 5th, 2009
The Brewer’s Association Of Maryland is holding its Baltimore Beer Week kick off party this coming Thursday, October 8th at 8pm at The Pratt Street Ale House. Tickets are $10 and gets you a souvenir glass, your first beer free and a complimentary buffet. In addition to our own offerings we will be serving the following beers from BAM members ($3 pints all evening)
Brewer’s Art … Ozzy
Dog Brewing … Dog Fest Oktoberfest & Black Dog Stout
White Marsh Brewing … Something Red
Clipper City … Loose Cannon & Marz Hon
Flying Dog … Old Scratch & InHeat Wheat.
Come support your local breweries and start Baltimore Beer Week in style!
Is it really that week already?
Monday, October 5th, 2009
…. Yes, it is! Baltimore Beer Week is almost upon us, just a few short days to go. It seems hard to believe that it’s come around so quickly since the first whispers of a beer week some months ago. Of course, we have an excellent committee of dedicated and enthusiastic individuals who have been toiling diligently behind the scenes to make this ground-breaking event possible so hats off to Joe Gold et al! It is thanks to their hard work that has made the run up to beer week relatively effortless for the rest of us. There are a breathtaking number of events scheduled to take place over the course of the 10 days so check out www.baltimorebeerweek.com for the full calendar of events. I would particularly urge anyone who has time to participate in the tours being run by Mark Supik & Co., manufacturers of tap handles for breweries nationwide …. fascinating stuff and an interesting aside to the main event (drinking beer!)
I was sort of hoping that we would have a chance to catch our breath here at the brewery before diving into the maelstrom of events we have planned but no such luck. Instead we’re maxed out in the brewery this week, brewing a Best Bitter, Blackfriar Stout and Irish Red and then finishing the week with a double batch of Ironman and of course processing the four brews in fermenting vessel from last week. I’m beginning to wonder when we’re going to get to sleep during the next couple of weeks! I have a feeling that this whole beer week thing is not for the faint of heart! Don’t forget, come and say hello if you see us out and about at any of the events.
Cheers
Steve
Beer Week update
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
A few new events have been added to our brewery schedule so here’s our list of events so far:
Thursday 8th Oct. Brewer’s Association Of Maryland kick-off party @ The Pratt Street Ale House
Friday 9th Oct. Meet the brewery @ Bare Bones Grill, Ellicott City. 7pm. Special firkin release.
Saturday 10th Oct. BAM Oktoberfest @ the Timonium Fairgrounds
Sunday 11th Oct. Beer brunch at Victoria Gastro Pub, Columbia
Monday 12th Oct. Pint night @ Alexander’s Tavern, Fells Point
Wednesday 14th Oct. Meet the Brewery @ Metropolitan Coffee House & Wine Bar, Federal Hill (featured firkin)
Thursday 15th Oct. Meet the brewery @ Bertha’s, Fells Point (featured firkin Oak Aged 3 Lions)
Friday 16th Oct. Pint night @ Racer’s cafe, Harford Rd.,
Friday 16th Oct. Pint night @ Emerald Tavern, Harford Rd.,
Saturday 17th Oct. Chesapeake Real Ale Festival @ The Pratt Street Ale House with a very special pre-release of “Hot Monkey Love” and “My Monkey’s Got Wood!”
Sunday 18th Oct. Homebrew extravaganza @ the Pratt Street Ale House from 9am.
Monday 19th Oct. sleeping … for a long time!!
homebrew competition results
Friday, September 18th, 2009
We finally found time in the brewery to sit and relax for a few minutes and try the home brewed beers that had been submitted to us for our homebrew competition. Our unanimous verdict was that “Dirty Hippy”, an American Brown Ale brewed by Brian Simons and Bruce Baldwin would be a great addition to our Fall beer line-up. Brian and Bruce are invited to don their work boots, kiss their loved ones goodbye and enter the dungeon like confines of our brewery for the brew day next week. The beer should be on tap for the start of the Baltimore Beer Week festivities in October. Congratulations gentlemen. I think this beer will be particularly excellent on cask, I’ll keep you all posted as to where and when that will be available.
Other home brew news … Sandy Mitchell and friends will be holding a home brew demonstration here at The Pratt Street Ale House on Sunday 18th October from 11am, our closing event for Baltimore Beer Week. The event is free so please participate, it should be a lot of fun. We will of course be running beer specials and brunch is available in the restaurant. If you want to get involved please contact Sandy through his blog, www.beerinbaltimore.blogspot.com
Cheers
Steve
hello pumpkin!
Thursday, September 17th, 2009
O.K., it’s on! We will be off to the farmer’s market on Sunday to purchase a considerable quantity of pumpkins (or a “shit load” as we English say) and on Tuesday the fun will begin! I’ve never brewed a pumpkin ale before so it should be an interesting experience. Gotta say, I’m a little nervous as pumpkins can cause problems in the mash but, as anyone who has seen the brewery here will know, we like to do things the hard way at Oliver’s! As well as using roasted pumpkin in the mash and the boil we will also moderately spice the ale with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
Keep a watch out for tomorrow’s post when we will announce the winner of our recent homebrew competition and also some details of a cool homebrew event that we will be holding at the Ale House as part of Baltimore Beer Week.