Columbia, MD October 5, 2019
It was a good move changing the Hops & Harvest Festival venue from the Columbia Lakefront to Merriweather this year. With lots more room, we could all sample local craft ales, wine, and spirits, chow down on food truck food, or learn about medical marijuana dispensers in the comfort of the deep shade of Merriweather Wood’s forest. Continue reading Hops & Harvest Festival 2019
Columbia, MD Saturday, March 9th, 2019
Five intrepid explorers braved the wilds of Columbia, MD, determined to reach their final goal – Sapwood Cellars.
Continue reading The Trek to Sapwood
Columbia, MD
On a pint night at Frisco Tap House, Keith, the manager, posed a question. He wondered if any of us would be interested in participating in a bottle night? Sort of like a tap takeover only using bottles instead of kegs. He suggested making some of the Eclipse bottles for this hypothetical night.
Continue reading Eclipse, Anyone?
Columbia, MD January 24, 2019
Columbia brewery, Hysteria Brewing, has been officially open for about a year and a half now. As reported in an earlier post, Sad Panda, a vandal struck Hysteria during the early morning hours of January 6th. A suspect has been identified.
Continue reading Vandal Suspect Caught
Just a quick note. Hysteria Brewing, the makers of Trash Panda and many other fine ales, is now open 7 days a week! Continue reading Hysteria’s new hours
Columbia, MD January 15, 2019
One of my favorite breweries, Cigar City, was featured at Frisco Tap House for pint night. Continue reading Cigar City comes to Frisco
Columbia, MD January 10, 2019
Early Sunday morning (January 6th) tragedy struck Hysteria Brewing Co. A vandal broke the windows of their van and keyed it, broke a tap room window, stole a hop planter and tried to damage the front door. If that’s not bad enough, they also destroyed the critical glycol unit resulting in having to dump 4 beers in their fermenters, including Trash Panda. Continue reading Sad Panda
Columbia, MD December 26, 2018
I am the cooler king of raffles! For the second time, I have won a cooler at a Frisco Tap House raffle, this time a Terrapin Beer Co. airtight cooler.
Continue reading Cooler King
Columbia, MD December 19, 2018
I’ve been reading Tristan Gooley’s The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs and starting to develop a keen eye for natural clues about our world. For instance, did you know moss grows on the north side of a tree and contrails predict bad weather? So, when I spotted a Tröegs Mad Elf at Frisco Tap House, I knew winter was just around the corner.
Continue reading A Mad Elf Night
Columbia, MD December 7, 2018
It has been a terrific Friday night. First, I spent the afternoon at Guinness Open Gate Brewery and Barrel House with my oldest friend, David. Then, I stopped by the Black Flag Brewery for their collaborative brew with Sapwood Cellars, Shared Kingdom.
The bar inside is a whirr of activity with great service. When I think of Guinness, I think of their draught, one of my favorites. However, their head brewer trained from the great Stone Brewery of San Diego, so they are much more than just a stout producer. In fact, their Hazy IPA was fantastic. (I know, it’s like going to a seafood restaurant and ordering a hamburger). However, I found it a zesty pineapple and grapefruit tasting beer, refreshing, light and easy drinking with a surprising sweetness. Another surprise was the Nitro Vanilla Cream Ale. (Thanks to bearded Vinnie for this recommendation). This light colored ale had a vanilla nose and initial vanilla flavor with some mildly bitter hops and a lingering sweet finish. An unusual beer. I found the Milk Stout too sweet to be delicious with a bitter chocolate flavor. When at Guinness, I recommend ordering the 6-ounce pours until you find the beer you really want to commit to with a 16-ounce pour.
Besides an enormous beer garden and the bar inside, Guinness has a restaurant on the 3rd floor plus, they offer free brewery tours. I talked to one of the hosts who suggests making online reservations as the tours fill up rather quickly. Tours are restricted to 21 people.
I intended to just head over to Black Flag for a quick sample of the Shared Kingdom and pick up a 4-pack (if I liked it). Instead, I met some new friends, let’s call them Kelly’s Heroes from Ellicott City. We talked about breweries in the area, this blog, and Ellicott City and Columbia.
Of course, I liked this Black Flag/Sapwood Cellars collaborative hazy pale ale. It was refreshing, soft and easy drinking. Well done, Black Flag and Sapwood Cellars!
Cheers!
Warren