Real Ale Festival SPBW Baltimore

[chazwicke]

This is an excellent festival and one that I will be attending. I am a SPBW member as well. I got this post from DC-Beer:



The Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood
Presents
The Chesapeake Real Ale Festival!

"The Region's Premier Real Ale Event"

Saturday, October 21, 2006
1-6pm
The Wharf Rat at Camden Yards
206 W. Pratt St, Baltimore

Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door
(tickets will sell out so please prepurchase!)

Tickets can also be purchased at the following locations or ONLINE:

Both "Wharf Rat" locations:
-- 801 S. Ann St. (Fells Point), Baltimore, MD 21231
-- 206 W. Pratt St. (Camden Yards), Baltimore, MD 21201

Mahaffey's Pub
2706 Dillon St. (Canton)
Baltimore, MD 21224

Maryland Home Brew
6770 Oak Hall Lane
Columbia MD 21045

Order Chesapeake Real Ale Festival Tickets Online at http://www.spbw.org/
Use our secure online payment through Paypal.
It accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover and AMEX too and you DON'T need a
Paypal account!

20 + Participating breweries(subject to change, check back for updates!)

Paul E. Milligan
Columbia, Maryland

[gallowd7]

AAARGH! Third year in a row I've been trumped by another event. This time I even had it on the calender!
#&@%* second cousin weddings!

[Insidious Rex]

Second cousin?? Come on its a no brainer... You can send them some Wharf Rat paraphernalia as a wedding gift. ;)

Anyone else going to the MD Brewers Oktoberfest this year? It was cool last year. Or for that matter what about the Shirlington Oktoberfest? Its coming up in just a month.

[chazwicke]

I've already ordered my tix for the Real Ale fest. And I'm hoping to make Shirlington as well. I think Shirlington might be a little unrealistic for me though as I'm having surgery a week before and will likely be recouping. I'll also be missing German Beer Night and an Oktoberfest that I attend every year. :(

[gallowd7]

When/where is the MD Brewers Oktoberfest?

[Insidious Rex]

October 14 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. http://www.mdoktoberfest.com/

Not a huge event but entertaining nonetheless. Dont expect too much.

[chazwicke]

Here is some additional info on the SPBW Real Ale festival:

The region's top real ale festival promises to be the biggest and best ever with a comprehensive list of regional and national breweries including:

Clipper City, Olivers, Capital City, Flying Dog, The Brewers Art, Whitemarsh, Brewers Alley, DuClaw, Troegs, Victory,
Brooklyn, Old Dominion, The District Chophouse, Lancaster, Appalachian, Yards, Dogfish Head, Rogue and More.


Only 300 tickets will be available to this unique event attended by many brewers themselves. Come and enjoy these one of a kind offerings from these talented brewers and find out what real ale is all about. The SPBW is proud once again to sponsor this incredible event and along with our host The Wharf Rat, we encourage you to get your tickets early and tell your friends.



I've already ordered my tix.:)

[MeridianFC]

I'm not sure of my status of this event, though it seems highly unlikely I'll be able to attend this year.

[chazwicke]

:eek:


I'm hoping to be recovered enough to make it. In fact I'm shooting for it. This was one of my favorite festivals from last year. Real Ale...mmmmmm

[lordkenpo]

Also, for anyone who may be riding the fence on this one, just know that:

1) Anywhere else in B-more, $25 will get you 4-5 Bud Lights poured from filthy draught lines. (No, the beer's not what you're tasting!)
2) Every beer you've had on tap or bottle will likely taste completely different (read: better) on cask.
3) More than a few brewers break out total one-offs for this event. Ones that immediately come to mind from last year included a 3-year old cask of Clay Pipe's "Pursuit of Happiness", a cask of Troeg's Pale Ale dry-hopped with Simcoe hops (and dare I say, the best offering I've yet to have from Troeg's), and a cask of DuClaw's Venom IPA cask-conditioned with apricots (which, in my opinion, completely blew away Dogfish Head's Aprihop).
4) You will meet some of the friendliest, most beer-savvy folks you're ever likely to find at this fest. Present company, especially.
5) Pogs are for profiteers; unlimited sampling is for champions.

[krippendroph]

whoo hoo gots my pair! sounds like a blast! i'm from pa and the 2 annual brewfests i always went to were pogless. and last year when i went to octoberfest i wasnt too thrilled with the pog deal. it just a money maker. so count us in!

[MeridianFC]

I can vouch for the fact that this fest is the bees knees. Small but not too small, big but not too big and casks! casks! casks!

[Insidious Rex]

Originally posted by chazwicke
:eek:


I'm hoping to be recovered enough to make it. In fact I'm shooting for it.

That reminds me how I went to this one last year (and the Shirlington Oktoberfest) with a bum leg. Itll be nice to have two good legs this year...

[chazwicke]

I recall you were on crutches. But Thetz was running to get beers for you. I'll probably be walking funny if I still have the impending uretal stent.

[n0rmann]

It looks like I went to Baltimore at the wrong time. I would have loved to come to this event.

[chazwicke]

It is a veritable feast for area real ale lovers. Best fest in the USA since Miami's Fabfest stopped bringing over 60 or so beers from England in casks.

[chazwicke]

Well I've ordered 3 tickets but I was informed by my doctor yesterday that I'll likely not be up to this festival. My surgery is next Wednesday and I was told recovery depends on how drastic they need to get with the surgery but to expect several days to a week in the hospital and a 4 - 6 week recovery in general. And that I'll have a stent for probably 6 weeks and a catheter for at least 7 days. I knew I would have the stent for a while and that is always uncomfortable but I was thinking I would be back in action after a week or so. Silly me. I've never been cut before so I was not sure what to expect. Still I am going to shoot for being well enough to make it on the 21st. If not I'll have 3 extra tickets. :(

[MeridianFC]

When you're better, and you will get better, we are going to hoist a few. Make book on that.

[Thetz]

Originally posted by chazwicke
I recall you were on crutches. But Thetz was running to get beers for you.

Well I will not mind going to get you beers also.

[chazwicke]

You are a sweetie. Thank you. I'm really hoping to get there. Real ale YUM!

[Thetz]

Originally posted by chazwicke
You are a sweetie. Thank you. I'm really hoping to get there. Real ale YUM!

hey if you are in any pain drink enough beer and you will NEVER feel the pain....not a bad idea....lol

[chazwicke]

It turns out my recovery is progressing nicely. I'm getting the 24 staples out on Monday but will have the stent for a couple months. It is much more comfortable this time so I'll be at this fest for sure. Have booked a room at the Marriott. YEAH!!!:)

[MeridianFC]

I think the pressence of MeridianFC 2.0 will probably prevent me from attending.

All the more reason to start work on the SPBW DC Real Ale Festival for March.............

I'm pretty sure I can secure a venue for a very small fest but I need to see if it's feasible.

[Thetz]

Originally posted by chazwicke
It turns out my recovery is progressing nicely. I'm getting the 24 staples out on Monday but will have the stent for a couple months. It is much more comfortable this time so I'll be at this fest for sure. Have booked a room at the Marriott. YEAH!!!:)

I am glad all is well....I was asking Rex if he heard how you were doing ....Missed you on Saturday was a good time.....

I look forward to seeing you next Saturday in Baltimore....

[MeridianFC]

BTW does anyone have the current brewers line up for the Fest? I think it was posted to the DC Beer list but I must've already trashed it. The SPBW website is not up to date with the info.

As an aside I was talking to my Brother in Law and he's keen to try a small cask fest at his place come the spring. No we've got to put our heads together and figure out a good size for the event (what's too small, what's too big). He doesn't have a lot of room for storage but there is a good amount of space for drinking, which is the important bit.

[chazwicke]

I trashed mine as well. Let me know if I can help out setting up the DC fest if your B-I-L can work it out.

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by Thetz
Missed you on Saturday was a good time.....



I was not happy to miss that one. Especially since it was raining and that keeps the crowds down. See you guys in Baltimore!

I have 2 extra tickets if anyone needs them.

[lordkenpo]

Happy 5-Days-'til-Fest everyone!

[chazwicke]

Looking forward to it. I still have one extra ticket.

[lordkenpo]

Don't suppose anyone out there might know if they expect designated drivers to purchase a ticket as well? Long story short: brother agreed to DD, and I'm hestitant to drop $25 on a ticket that won't go to "good use," so to speak.

In other news: holy jeez, I'm excited.

[MeridianFC]

Bad News - won't be able to make it. The wife and I are having the grandparents watch the sprogs but we'll only be good for a few hours and heavy pounding is out rendering attendance at the fest less than desireable. Next year.

Good News- I've sent out some information requests to some brewers, importers, and distributors and got my first reply back. Looks like the District Cask (DC geddit?) might actually happen. Here's hoping (or hopping). It'll be small, under 10 casks, but you gotta crawl before you can run. At least I think you do.

[gallowd7]

My only request is that you keep the date flexible and finalize it around my personal schedule. I'm sick of having to miss these things! :)

[gallowd7]

Almost a whole week and no reports!!!!!!!! Come on guys, got to having something to look forward to missing next year!

[chazwicke]

I had a good time. I think my favorite of the brews was the Old Dominion Hop Harvest. A few others that I sampled were:

Old Dominion Hop Harvest
Olivers Festival Best
Olivers Harvest Ale
Wild Goose Snow Goose
Fordham Oyster stout
Victory Hop Devil
Lancaster Harvest
Gordon Biersh Keller Maertzen
Troegs Hop Back Amber

There were a few others that I can't remember.

It was great seeing Insidious Rex, Thetz, Lordkenpo and spbwpresident from real beer there. I'm sure there were a few other real beer folk there as well. We missed Meridian this year. I'm looking forward to next year already. And Meridian, Dominic says he is happy to help with a Springtime DC real ale event.

Rex, Did you guys make the St. Marys Oyster Fest on Sunday?

[lordkenpo]

Another great fest! My only complaint was that there seemed to be fewer standouts and experimental brews this year. No 3-year old casks, nothing aged in oak, and nothing cask-conditioned with fruit. "Double dry-hopping" seemed to be about as experimental as they got.

Which is just fine by me; cask beer is a standout in and of itself. I particularly enjoyed the Brewer's Alley Oatmeal Stout; must've sampled enough of it for an entire session. The Flying Fish Farmhouse, Brewer's Art Canard, Troegs Hopback, and Fordham Oyster Stout were also all top-notch. Think I may have hit the OD Hop Harvest too late in the game. Well, that and one of my entourage suggested it was "off" before I even had a chance to sample it, so my verdict may have been slightly predetermined. Speaking of "off" beers, did anyone try the Clipper City Winter Storm? Definitely something off about that one.

[chazwicke]

The OD Hop Harvest was also the favorite or my buddy who drove. It was more complex and "chewy" than the Troegs which I also liked. The OD had noticably more malt backbone that balanced the bold hop presence. I had not expected it to be my favorite but I eventually returned to it several times. Even choosing it over some that I had not yet tasted. I regret not sampling the Oatmeal Stout from Brewers Alley. I like their pub much and I think they make good beer. I was kind of trying to hold off on the stouts and bigger brews and hit them last. The weather this year was fantastic and I think there were definitely more people there too.

[MeridianFC]

Thanks for the reports.

Just so's you know I was talking to Brian at the Reef last night and he's got his casks ordered so Thursday night cask night will be back maybe even as early as next week.

[Insidious Rex]

Originally posted by chazwicke
Rex, Did you guys make the St. Marys Oyster Fest on Sunday?

Nah we had a few things we needed to do and then a football game we wanted to watch so it kind of made going down to St. Marys nearly impossible. But Im going to make up for it by getting some oysters (now in season) in Alexandria sometime soon. Or just buying a quart and making a casserole...

I agree about the Old Dominion as we discussed there. I enjoyed that and the Troegs and Olivers harvest brew. I actually liked the farm house ale and yes the oyster stout was good too. Nothing bowled me over this year though. But thats ok. I also liked the Proletary Ale a great deal. Dark and nice but easy to drink.

Meridian let us know if you need any help with the local event.

[gallowd7]

But Im going to make up for it by getting some oysters (now in season) in Alexandria sometime soon. Or just buying a quart and making a casserole...

The bay oysters are fantastic, we got a 1/2 bushel last weekend and got through them all in a day. :)

Thanks all for the SPBW updates. I'll try and miss it again next year.

[chazwicke]

A good place to get oysters is Stoudt's Brewpub in PA believe it or not. The Black Angus restaurant has a raw bar and I usually get a dozen. They once told me they get them from VA. (I actually stopped at Stoudts yesterday and was tempted to get some of the oysters but I had just stopped in for a few bottles of their fest brew which they were out of.)

Urbanna VA has a great oyster fest the first Saturday in November. It gets crowded. 50,000 people. It is in it's 49th year. Tilghman Island on the Eastern Shore has a nice festival too.

And Chicoteague has a couple of festivals as well.

Now I'm hankering for a dozen raw ones!

[Thetz]

I would have to say that I liked the OD also. But I agree with Rex there was nothing there that blew me away....you cant go wrong with Hop Devil..there were a few I went back for umm seconds or something like that...lol

It was great seeing everyone there...Looking good Chaz....sorry I dont know everyone elses name on here but it was great seeing you too.

So whats next guys?