I have a business trip to Baltimore the second week in July. It looks like I will be staying down by the Convention Center/Inner Harbour area?
I obviously plan on attending an Orioles game since they are at home and playing the Tigers. I hear Camden Yards is a beautiful place to watch a game. I am also going to check out Heavy Seas, and hopefully take a tour. I may go to the Aquarium, I haven’t decided yet.
Any other great breweries, brew pubs, bars, restraunts, or places I should check out? I am hoping to try some East Coast beers that we don’t get here in Nebraska. I will be there about 4 days and should have all of my afternoons and evenings free. Thanks in advance.
There are a bunch of places in Fells Point, which is easily reached by water taxi. It’s more interesting for walking around than the area around the Convention Center, or it was last I was there. I liked the Wharf Rat downtown, but it’s has been transformed into the Pratt Street Alehouse. Don’t know if it has changed much, but they still have 3 beers on cask, so I would head there.
Brewer’s Art is supposed to be good as well, but I didn’t make it there.
You should definitely try to make it out to Max’s Taphouse, with 140 rotating drafts, 5 Hand-Pumped Cask Ales, it’s Baltimore’s premier beer pub. Max’s is in the heart of historic Fells Point, just east of the Inner Harbor at Water Taxi Stop #11.
is there such a thing as a John Waters tour? I’d do that if there was. Maybe he’s in town and you could go to his house and throw bizarre things at his house till he asks you in or has you arrested!
Definitely head to Max’s. That’s all that really needs to be said, in terms of sheer quantity and quality of selection. If you get sick of 140 taps, they have an amazing cellar of Belgian bottles.
For local brewpubs, Pratt Street Ale House does English style ales and does indeed have casks, as well as an expanded lineup of seasonals recently. Their head brewer is from England and brews everything on a 7 BBL Peter Austin system crammed in the basement of the ancient building (think Ringwood and open fermentation). It’s right by Camden Yards, too. The Brewer’s Art is another brewpub, doing Belgian style ales since the mid 90s. I also hear that Brian Strumke from Stillwater is opening a Stillwater bar soon, though I don’t know when.
You should have no trouble getting tickets to a ball game as long as the Yankees or Red Sox aren’t in town.
The take away from that article for me is to stay inside on st. pat’s. any holiday that has become that much of an excuse for drunken rowdy behaviour is to be avoided in my book. call me a grumpy old man… but do it after GETTING OFF MY LAWN!!!
That guy was so drunk he didn’t even know if he was on planet earth. I’m not saying it was justified, but at times I’d love to do that to some of the blind-drunk college kids and frat boys from the suburbs who make my neighborhood hell every year on St. Paddy’s day. Just because you’re out having a good time doesn’t mean you need to break mirrors off of car doors and jump on people’s windshields. Only trouble I’ve ever had living downtown for 10 years has been from obnoxious douchebags partying.
People are getting killed all over that city all the time. Yes, even the Inner Harbor area. There are great bars you can visit, but do it cautiously and with a group, only!
People are getting killed in lots of cities, lots of the time. Be cautious as you would in any unfamiliar area. A lot of violence is isolated to illegal activities, specifically the drug trade. According to the Sun crime maps, there was one murder in the inner harbor area last year, as a result of a drunken fight on the 4th of July and possibly in self defense.
If death is not an option, avoid any place with high population density and also car rides.
In July, you really do need to get some crabs. Crab cakes if you want, but steamed crabs with old bay are the best if you’re willing to get your hands dirty. Riptide in Fells Point, or Bo Brooks or Dockside in Canton are good choices. Stay away from Phillips, its a tourist trap.
In Federal Hill, first stop shoulld be Pub Dog. Not a brewpub but they only serve their own house beers which are brewed at Dog Brewing in Westminster. Good locally-brewed beers (try the new Begian Blue Corn Tripel), great pizzas. FYI, Dog Brewing in Westminster (where I live) also brews many of the Stillwater Ales.
Second stop is only a few doors away, at the Abbey Burger Bistro. Belgian beers and the best burger menu anywhere…choice of meat, bread, cheese, a bazillion toppings. I’m tellin’ ya…a beef burger with peanut butter and fresh jalapeno peppers is it!
Also second the vote for Brewer’s Art which is an upscale, comfy brewpub with great “European Country” fare.
if you have wheels, then get thee to Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia. The beer menu is literally a book of beers from around the world, with a solid emphasis on Belgians. The duck fat fries will help you think your way through the beer menu.
Max’s Taphouse if you’re just looking for the sickest choice of drafts and bottles.
Ok, the day is finally here! Flying out tomorrow. Gonna hit the Pratt St. Alehouse, Alewife, Max’s, Heavy Seas Tap Room and Brewer’s Art, in no particular order. Gonna get some likely get some fresh crabs at Riptide. Will meet up and do the family thing on Friday with the Aquarium and an O’s game. Hoping to do the Heavy Seas tour on Saturday, we will see. At least I have reservations. Thanks everyone for the helpful suggestions!
One last one, does anyone know if there are any good bottle shops in Fells Point or by the harbor. Hoping to ship some tasty samples back home!
Dude, that’s a lot of places to hit – hope you’re doing it in more than one day. Max’s is usually good enough to put me in the bag, and that’s just drinking samplers. I was out there for their Belgian festival earlier this year and enjoyed hanging out with local homebrewers.
This isn’t close to Fells Point, but the best bottle shop I found in the Baltimore Area is Wells Discount Liquors http://www.wellswine.com/. Always seemed to have interesting things, like a bunch of Belgians and Baltic porters.
On a trip to NYC a few weeks ago, I discovered Stillwater Artisinal Ales. Not a new brewery but new to me. He is a gypsy brewer out of Baltimore. He recently opened a gastro pub called Of Love & Revenge. Had his Cellar Door, a wit with sage - truly spectacular. Brought back 3-4 others, including one done with Mikeller. Highly recommend looking for Stillwater beers while in Baltimore - on draft at other bars, at the brewpub, or bottled.
