Boog Starts Off Baltimore Beer Week With a Mighty Blow
Here is the latest news from Baltimore Beer Week.
Boog Powell, one of baseball's historic sluggers and a longtime friend of beer, will start Baltimore Beer Week with a mighty blow.Powell, who socked 339 home runs in his 17- year career, will crack open a cask of beer aboard the USS Constellation in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
The ticketed event, set for the evening of October 8th will inaugurate the first Baltimore Beer Week -- a 10-day celebration from October 8-18th of the region's strong brewing culture.
“I am not sure whether I will use one of my old bats or a mallet to open the keg," said Powell. "But I know I will make good contact."
The ceremonial cask tapping is the first of a series of Beer Week activities that will include as many as 150 separate events held at taverns and restaurants around the Baltimore metro area.
Highlights of Baltimore Beer Week include: the Brewers Association of Maryland Oktoberfest October 10th when 12 Maryland breweries pour some 75 beers at the Timonium Fairgrounds, the Society for Preservation of Beers from the Wood Chesapeake Real Ale Festival October 17th where some 30 cask-conditioned ales will be tapped, and a Baltimore beer pioneer’s lunch October 12 at Bertha's where the city's sudsy history will be discussed.
Information and tickets for these and other Beer Week events are listed under Events on the web site baltimorebeerweek.com.
Powell, who played on World Champion Orioles teams in 1966 and 1970 and was the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1970, has enjoyed a long and productive relationship with beer. Powell played for the Orioles during the period when the team's owner, Jerold C. Hoffberger, also owned Baltimore's National Brewing Company.
"At the start of a home stand every player would get a case of National beer," Powell recalled. "Some players didn't drink so, as a good teammate, I volunteered to relieve them of their beer." Shortly after he ended his baseball career in 1977, Powell appeared in popular national television advertisements for Miller Lite in which he, a number of former athletes, and an umpire, debated whether the brew tasted great or was less filling.
Now a fixture at Camden Yards where he presides over Boog's Barbecue, Powell and his son J.W. also operate barbecue restaurants in Ocean City, MD.
"Baltimore Beer Week is shaping up to be one of the premier events for Maryland beer lovers," said Joe Gold, chairman of the non-profit group that organized the week.
Sponsorship opportunities for sanctioned events on the Beer Week calendar are available, Gold said. "We let the tavern owner or restaurateur pick what he wants to do,” Gold said. "It could be as simple as matching beers with crab cakes."
Additional information about participation and sponsorships, Gold said, is available at sponsors@baltimorebeerweek.com.
I have agreed to be the media contact person.
Baltimore Sun Photo: Boog Powell signing autographs at 2006 Fan Fest
Comments
How can the tapping ceremony be "sold-out" when the BBW website doesn't provide any ticket information ("Stay-tuned for details on this event"), or is this just open to a "selected few"?
OLDBALTO: YOU ARE RIGHT, IT IS POOR WORDING, I WILL CHANGE IT. AS I UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION SAFTEY RULES SET A LOW LIMIT OF THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT CAN BE ON THE BOAT, SO IT IS A TICKETED EVENT, BUT THE NUMBER OF TICKETS AND THE NUMBER OF SPOTS ON THE BOAT IS BEING WORKED OUT . DON'T WANT TO HAVE FOLKS SHOW UP AND BE TURNED AWAY, ROB KASPER
Posted by: OldBalto | August 31, 2009 10:14 AM