Beer Fest Wrap-Up

The Maryland Microbrewery Festival was a total blast.  Aside from a few GPS-related incidents (navigating somewhere totally incorrect, slight off-roading in a vehicle really not designed for that), it was a well-organized event with delicious beer held on a day with beautiful weather.

Unfortunately I had zero cell signal, so I'm going back through today and logging everything I drank.

I drank:

* Hampden on Rye by Union
* Saison Pecore (with Kefir Lime leaves) by Brewer's Art
* Riot Rye by Monocacy Brewing
* Kolsch by Brewers Alley
* Boomerang by Ellicott Mills Brewing
* Saison by Johansson Dining House
* Milk Stout by Ruhlman Brewing

I was most excited to finally try beers by Ruhlman and Johansson breweries, those are much smaller farm-based breweries here in Maryland so you pretty much have to go out to the brewery to find their stuff.  All in all, Maryland has some really great breweries for a state that isn't that large.  You'll see that the largest, most popular breweries are missing from my list, but that was really intentional.  I wanted to use this beer fest to try things that I couldn't find everywhere. This isn't anything against Flying Dog or DuClaw, but I can happily sample their beers at most local restaurants or on my couch with a six-pack I picked up from the store down the street.

My favorites were the Saison Pecore by Brewer's Art, the Riot Rye by Monocacy, the Kolsch by Brewer's Alley and the Milk Stout by Rhulman.