Category Archives: Beer

‘Tis the Season

06 Saturday Oct 2012

Posted by in Beer, Fish, The Bay

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OK. I know it has been a while since I last posted, but it has truly been hectic. I have to divide my time between the fun stuff (fishing and beer) and the whole making money to live thing.

First and foremost, if you are a fisherman, GET OUT THERE! This is by far the best time of the year to fish. Rockfish, Bluefish, Speckled Sea Trout, and Red Drum are preparing themselves for winter by chasing and consuming large quantities of baitfish in the shallows. These conditions won’t last much longer, as the water temperatures continue to fall.

I had a spectacular time on the Honga River yesterday. Launched at 11 am and fished the grass beds on an incoming tide. Landed 10 fish and kept 4, one of which was a 24 incher. I was casting with an ultralight rod and 10# mono. Great fun.

Ocean Odyssey

16 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by in Beer, Fish, Food

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I have driven past it plenty of times over the years, but have never stopped. Recently, on their sign, I saw the words “Fish Tacos” and “Craft Brews”. Hmm… Fish and Beer. Not a chance I was going to drive past today.

The Ocean Odyssey is in Cambridge, Maryland, right on Route 50. They have been in business for 26 years; in fact their anniversary was this week. It is a small, unassuming place, but they take their beer seriously. They have an impressive selection of micros pouring from 9 taps, that rotate weekly. There is always something from Evolution and Dogfish Head flowing. No watered down swill here.

Fish Tacos

As their name implies, seafood is their specialty. I would like to try other things on the menu in the future, but will probably order the fish tacos again. Yes, they are that good. Ocean Odyssey is a seasonal place. They open in April and close in November. They are open 6 days a week and closed on Sunday.

 

Home Brew Classes

18 Wednesday Jul 2012

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mmmm…..beer

Are you interested in learning how to make your own beer? Well, for $20 and 3 hours of your time, the gentlemen at Annapolis Homebrew will show you how. They are offering 3 different classes that cover home brewing from beginner to advanced. If you are already a brewer and are tired of bottling your beer, they are also offering a kegging and filtering class. All classes are $20 and include a $20 store credit. See details for each below.

Partial Mash brewing class

Saturday July 28, 2012 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Want to take your brewing up a notch? Learn to brew using the Partial Mash method. You’ll learn about the equipment needed and how to convert extract & steeping grain recipes to partial mash. $20 fee includes a $20 store credit that can be used on the day of the class.
All Grain brewing class

Saturday August 4, 2012 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Want to kick extract to the curb? You’ll want to attend our All Grain brewing class! We will discuss equipment and ingredients, and do a hands-on grain mash. Learn how to convert extract recipes to all-grain. $20 fee includes a $20 store credit, which can be used on the day of the class.
Home Brew Kegging and Filtering class

Saturday August 11, 2012 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT
Introducing our newest home brew class: Kegging and Filtering! Learn how to keg, carbonate, filter, and serve your own beer. $20 fee includes a $20 store credit, which can be used on the day of the class. Cost is $20, and all participants will receive a $20 credit good for the day of the class only.
Home Brew Intro Class

Saturday August 18, 2012 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Learn to home brew! This class is for newbies only. If you are looking for a more advanced class, check out our schedule of events. Have friends or relatives who want to brew? Tell them to sign up right away! All participants receive a $20 credit to use on the day of the class!

An Introduction To Cask Conditioned Ale

08 Sunday Jul 2012

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Cask conditioning is a method of packaging and dispensing beer. This process was made famous and perfected by the British, prior to the advent of refrigeration and CO2 draft systems. After the primary fermentation is complete, the beer is put into a cask, sugar is added (primed), and the cask sealed. The ale is then allowed to sit for a few days at a warmish temperature. This enables a secondary fermentation to take place, resulting in the natural carbonation of the beer. The beer is then cooled to the low 50′s F.

Cask sitting on bar

To dispense, the cask can be placed directly on the bar and the beer poured out through a spigot, or it could be attached to a hand pump, also known as a beer engine. This device is clamped to the bar, and actually pumps the beer out of the cask, which is traditionally in the cellar. Alex Hall, of the Gotham Imbiber, wrote an excellent article on the process.

There are a few local bars that regularly serve cask ale, but because of its delicate nature and short shelf life, it is not always available. Pratt Street Alehouse and the Wharf Rat, both in Baltimore, almost always have cask ale. Max’s Taphouse and Metropolitan Coffee House and Wine bar, also in Baltimore, offer fresh casks every Thursday night. There are others, but they don’t seem to be as consistent as these four. Here is a link to help you find Cask Ale.

A pint of Flying Dog Imperial IPA in front of 5 hand pumps at Max’s Taphouse

There is plenty more to write on this subject, but in the meantime, I encourage you to seek out cask ale. Forget about any of the “warm and flat” nonsense that you may have heard and give it a try. Cheers!

 

 

 

 

Wednesday Fishing Report

28 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by in Beer, Fish, Food

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Had planned on fishing today with my buddy, Steve. He wasn’t up for a Dorchester County trip, so it looked like we would stay local. The wind was blowing out of the northwest at 15-20, so the bay bridge was out. We decided on the Severn, launching at Jonas Green. We splashed at 11:30 and the wind was still howling. Fishing was difficult. Very hard to stay in position, even on the Annapolis side of the river. Caught a few perch and some very small hardhead and rock. The wind never let up and after about 2 hours, we decided to call it quits.

Not catching fish makes me thirsty and seeing as Jonas Green is right next to the Severn Inn,  it didn’t seem right to just drive on by. So in we go. It was kinda busy for the middle of the day, but plenty of room at the bar. Some of the best laid plans are made at the bar. Snake Dog IPA from Flying Dog Brewery, on draft, hit the spot. Half way through our fist beer, we decided to look for a topwater bite at sunset. See what I mean about good plans made at the bar?

The plan was to launch at Sandy Point and work a couple of points on the incoming tide. The wind had moderated  considerably, and it was quite pleasant. We started with soft plastics and again, caught plenty of perch and undersize rock. As the sun sank I started with a 4 1/2 Heddon Spook. By now the surface was almost glasslike , with some residual swells from the days wind. The bite was tough. A few small blow-ups and a few hook-ups. The largest being about 14″. Certainly not what we were looking for, but any size fish on topwater is a good time in my book.

How is beer made?

23 Saturday Jun 2012

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Traditionally, beer has been made with 4 ingredients: Malted Barley, Hops, Yeast and Water.

Malted Barley-image from Eater.com

Barley is a cereal grain, similar to wheat. Malted barley is crushed or cracked open in a mill, then soaked in hot water. This soaking process is called mashing. Mashing converts starch, that is naturally occurring in barley, into a sugar. The sugar is then rinsed off of (sparged), and separated from (lautered), the grain. This sugar/water is called wort (pronounced wert). The wort is then boiled.

Whole hops-image from Grapes and Grain

Hops are flowers that contain bitter resins. They are added at different times during the boil and give beer it’s bitter taste and floral aroma. The wort is then cooled rapidly to under 60 degrees F, and transferred to a fermentation vessel.

The 16 Mile Brewhouse

Fermentation vessels at the 16 Mile Brewing Company

Active yeast is added and the transformation from wort to beer begins. The yeast will essentially convert the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO2) in a process called fermentation. This takes anywhere from 5 to 14 days, depending on temperature, strain of yeast, and the particular style of beer being brewed. At this point, we have beer. Flat beer, but beer nonetheless. Carbonating involves forcing CO2 into the beer, either naturally or mechanically. Depending on the style, it can be consumed immediately or allowed to age several days to several months.

That’s it, in a nutshell. Of course, there are countless considerations for every step and ingredient mentioned above, but you get the gist.

16 Mile Brewing Company

20 Wednesday Jun 2012

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Without a doubt, some of the best tasting beer you will ever drink comes from small, local brewers. In no particular order, I will eventually profile every brewery in the Chesapeake region. Here is the first of hopefully many posts about local breweries.

Fishing trips usually end with food and beer. Recently, my buddy, Steve, and I had the opportunity to try 16 Mile’s Blue’s Golden Ale on draft. After a long day on the water, it was just what the doctor ordered. I was pleased to find out it is brewed locally.

16 Mile Brewing Company  is located in Georgetown, Delaware, and is owned and operated by Delaware natives, Brett McCrea and Chad Campbell. Currently, 16 Mile has 5 year-round Ales and 1 seasonal. You can find 16 Mile in bottles and on draft, distributed throughout Delaware, Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Central Pennsylvania.

16 Mile welcomes visitors, where you can tour the brewery and sample the beer.

light and refreshing after a long day

 

The Old Stein is back

11 Sunday Sep 2011

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I can’t think of a better way to start a beer blog, than to post the re-opening of a local beer icon. The Old Stein Inn in Edgewater was devastated by a fire in the early morning hours of December 31, 2010. After 8 long months, the extensive re-building project is complete and once again the beer is flowing.

The building is beautiful and while the original look and feel has obviously been lost, the Selingers did a great job of maintaining the atmosphere of a fine German Bierstube. The grand opening is September 14. I can’t tell you how good it is to see them back. Prost!

http://oldstein-inn.com/