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Hey check out this article I wrote for my Feature Writing class at Hood College. I submitted it to the Frederick News Post and it recently got published! I’m super pumped I got to interview an awesome dude and get it published. I hope I can write more articles about beer because it’s always better when you get to write about something you love. Cheers!
GUYS. Have you ever had Berger Cookies? If not, slap yourself and go to the grocery store and buy some now. You’ll thank me in a week and be ten pounds fatter. Berger Cookies are a Baltimore CLASSIC. They’re cookies covered and I mean COVERED in the most amazing fudge. Why am I writing about this on a beer blog? Well, Full Tilt Brewing Company just released a Berger Cookie Chocolate Stout. Here are all the reason this is big news: 1. Baltimore Rules, 2. Berger cookies rule, and 3. Beer rules! Save me a six pack with my name on it for May 1st of next year because it’s all I want for my 21st birthday.
“Full Tilt Brewing’s BERGER COOKIE CHOCOLATE STOUT is brewed with Baltimore’s legendary dessert. This Sweet Stout starts with grist of 2-Row Pale, Crystal 85L, Carapils, Chocolate Malt, and Chocolate Wheat. The Berger Cookie character begins by adding actual Berger Cookies and lactose to the boil with Nugget and Tettnang hops for balance. Cacao Nibs are added during secondary fermentation enhancing aroma. Finally, vanilla is introduced in the brite tank rounding off Full Tilt’s homage to DeBaufre Bakery. “Anytime is a good time, with Berger Cookies”… and Full Tilt!”
omg.
Really awesome video brought to you by the local Flying Dog Brewing Company. “Since its release in 2011, proceeds from Pearl Necklace have enabled ORP to plant 2 billion oysters back into the Bay”. I love to see breweries developing projects and following through with them. Two great topics in one.
Getting crafty with beer is my element. I love seeing all the out of the box creations people create with beer. Why throw away the remains of that six pack you bought when you can recycle it into something rad?! I have seen tons of great crafts for sale on Etsy and at breweries. Here are some great gifts for the holidays and ideas to get your creative juices flowing!
BEER SOAP:
A bubbly way to get clean! There are tons of breweries that offer beer soap on their websites or at their breweries. You can purchase handmade beer soap from etsy as well. Savage Soaps in downtown Frederick sells a Beersud soap year round. They use Brewer’s Alley’s Nut Brown Ale to make spicy smelling soap.
DOG TREATS:
Beer may be bad for dogs but the spent grain from the brewing process is not! While visiting Dogfish Head brewery in Rehoboth Beach, I picked up some doggie treats in the gift shop for my Boston Terrier. He loved them! They make dog treats using the spent grain, apples, cinnamon, bananas, and oats. Such a cool way to recycle beer for mans best friend. Pick some up on Dogfish Head’s website.
BEER CRAFTS:
An eco-friendly way to express yourself. The possibilities are endless. Personally, I have decorated picture frames and mirrors with recycled bottle caps. My friend saves all his six packs and has a beer wall in his apartment. My brother has a beer shelf in his kitchen filled with bottles with cool labels and such. It is a fun, personal way to create something and gift it to a friend! I have seen wind chimes, coasters, jewelry, and candle holders on etsy! Check out the handmade beer crafts selection here!
The design of a beer label is the first thing to grab your attention. People will buy beer just based on the overall package design. While the beer inside might not meet the same design quality, I’ll still give them credit for their sharp, clean designs!
21st Amendment Beers
Uinta Beer
Laughing Dog Beer
Sierra Nevada beer
Elysian Beer
Cask conditioned may or may not be a term you are familiar with in the beer world.
The process is very similar to the regular brewing process. Cask conditioned is really another way to package and serve beer. Here are a few of the main differences:
The process of dispensing the cask conditioned beer is the main difference. The cask beer is kept at cellar temperature (between 50 °F to 55 °F). The beer is served at cellar temperature making the beer less cold than regular dispensed beer (typically being in the mid-30’s °F). The beer is served directly from the cask. There is no use of carbon dioxide or other chemicals; the beer is hand-pumped out of the cask.
So what does this mean for the flavor of the beer? The beer is more delicately carbonated due to the pulling method. Cask beer is also unique because of the aging process. The cask tends to create a unique, bitter flavor. Any regular beers like stouts, IPA’s, and lagers can be aged in casks. The aging, temperature and pulling technique will change the flavor of a beer.
For example, if Flying Dog Brewery cask conditioned their In Wheat Heat Hefeweizen, it would taste very different from the normally brewed batch.
Brewer’s Alley is a local restaurant/brewery that serves cask conditioned beer. They tend to take their own beers and cask condition them so costumers can taste the difference. The cask changes weekly. The brewery is constantly cask conditioning different beers. Stop by and see what’s on cask this week!
Brewer’s Alley will be providing live music, food and beer at their 2013 Oysterfest, Friday, October 11th. The event will be hosted by Monocacy Brewing Company located at 1781 N. Market St. Frederick, MD 21701. Tickets for the event are $65, you can grab your tickets here. The event will be held outside the brewery under tents from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
The event will feature oysters from Barren Island in Maryland, Toby Island in Virginia, Hollywood Oysters in Maryland, select oysters from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Prince Edwards Island, Canada.
Other condiments and good eats will be provided by Brewer’s Alley such as tomato basil relish, cucumber mignonette sauce, pulled pork, jalapeno corn bread and brownies.
Selected beer from Brewer’s Alley and Monocacy Brewing Co. will be available on draft.
For the full event menu, please visit Brewer’s Alley Event Page.
The leaves are falling, the temperature is dropping, the boots are coming out, this can only mean one thing- IT’S FINALLY FALL! The best season with the best drinks. Bring on the pumpkin beer!
Maryland has a wide selection of breweries releasing their pumpkin beer around this time. Here is a list of some smashing pumpkin ales.
Pub Dog’s Monster Mash: Pub Dog started in 2005 as a pizza and draft house in Baltimore. They have since expanded, opening a brewery in Westmister, MD. This brew is a pumpkin/yam style. The label reads 6.66% ABV, those clever dogs! Sounds like a graveyard smash to me.
Flying Dog’s The Fear: Flying Dog originated in Colorado and relocated to Frederick, MD in 1994. Donned with crazy original Ralph Steadman art, this label is eye catching. This is an imperial pumpkin ale. This beer’s ingredients make it sound more like pumpkin pie; It is brewed with local pumpkin puree and a secret blend of spices. Racking up 9.0% ABV, this beer is not for the fearful.
Heavy Sea’s Great’er Pumpkin Ale: A brewery out of Baltimore, MD dating back to 1995. Heavy sea’s is a very popular baltimore brewery with a popular pumpkin beer. The Great’er is a bourbon barrel-aged pumpkin ale. Barrel-aging the beer add oaky, vanilla notes making this beer full of flavor. A strong flavored and very alcoholic beer (10.0% ABV!).
There you have it, some of the finest pumpkin beers around town.
Frederick Brews 