Max's Belgian Beer Fest full draft and bottle menu
Max's Belgian Beer Festival begins on Friday. For three days, the bar will only serve some 120 Belgian (and Belgian-style) beers on their extensive draft lines and about 175 bottles of Belgian beer.
In addition, it will have on hand about six casks from Brewer's Art and Stillwater Ales, including that microbrewer's most recent collaboration with Mikkeler, Our Side.
The festival is now in its seventh year, and has become a must on any beer lover's calendar. Admission is free.
What's the deal about Belgian beer, anyway? Well, for starters, it's an acquired taste. Even Pratt Street Ale House's Steve Jones told me during Baltimore Beer Week he only started experimenting with them recently.
What makes Belgians taste different is the way they're brewed. Belgian brewers typically use their own house yeast to make their beer, giving it a taste that's radically different from commercial American lagers and even traditional English Ale, Jones' specialty.
Max's cellar master Casey Hard sent me their most recent draft and bottle beer menu for the festival; Beer in Baltimore had also posted it over the weekend.
Here it is in an easily printable Scribd document, posted below:
The menu below doesn't account for product that may not be shipped on time. And, it doesn't always include alcohol percentages.
But Hard says it is the bar's most recent and comprehensive:Belgian Fest 2011
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
Oooh yes. The countdown has begun.
See ya there!
Posted by: Brad | February 15, 2011 12:02 PM
"Max's cellar master Casey Hard sent me their most recent draft and bottle beer menu for the festival."
If that's the case, then there's really no excuse for your opening comment. Friday is the only day in which there will only be Belgian beers on tap (there will be one beer from Stillwater, but it's a collaborative beer that WAS brewed over in Belgium). The other two days there will be Belgian beers and Belgian "style" beers. The latter, of course, are domestically brewed beers made in a particular Belgian style (saisons, tripels, dubbels, etc.).
Just a word of warning/caution for those who have never attended. This event is VERY popular and so during most of the three days, expect Max's to be VERY crowded. There may even be a line to get in during peak hours (Friday night and Saturday afternoon, for example). Still, this is a must event for anyone in Baltimore who is at all fond of Belgian and Belgian style beer.
Posted by: JohnM. | February 15, 2011 12:06 PM
@johnm: Max's will serve the belgians on draft for as long as there's product left on the kegs; that's how it's been in previous years they told me. obviously, when it runs out, it runs out. but my understanding is that in the past leftovers have lasted for more than just the official three days of the festival.
Posted by: Maza | February 15, 2011 12:22 PM
@ Erik
Sigh... you're not getting what I'm saying. Let me put it another way.
Beers like Chimary, Duvel, Orval and delirium tremens are all Belgian beers that were actually brewed in Belgium (which is why they are are called Belgian beers). Beers made by Ommegang, Stillwater, Brewer's Art and Allagash, while certainly delicious, are not Belgian beers. They are domestically made, Belgian "style" beers.
Max's will have both on offer during the festival, but on Friday (and only Friday) there will only be beers on tap that were actually brewed in Belgium. The rest of the weekend there will be both Belgian and domestically made Belgian style beers on offer.
Your last point is quite accurate. Even come the following weekend, Max's is likely to still have on an excellent selection of Belgian and Belgian style ales. No reason to only visit over the weekend to partake of all the frothy goodness.
Posted by: JohnM. | February 15, 2011 4:23 PM
@johnm, if that wasn't clear, ive updated for clarification
Posted by: Maza | February 15, 2011 4:28 PM