Can it be? I never thought there was a chance I would spend some of my Christmas holidays In Baltimore but I got this email yesterday:
Dear Contributors:Careful readers will remember that I was invited by Steven Hales of the Department of Philosophy at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania on his collection of essays Beer and Philosophy and provided a chapter entitled "Beer and Autonomy". Here is the index of chapters each of which was written by a different contributor.I'm delighted to tell you that our publisher, Wiley-Blackwell, will be hosting a launch party for Beer and Philosophy and the companion books Wine and Philosophy and Food and Philosophy. The party will be at The Wharf Rat Brewpub in Baltimore on December 27. It starts at 6:00 pm and goes until closing; we have the entire place to ourselves. There will be open wine, open Oliver's microbrewed draft beer, and piles of hors d'oeuvres and finger foods. Naturally, as contributors, you are all invited to attend for free. Noncontributors are also invited to attend for the nominal cost of $25. So tell your friends and colleagues.
Cheers, Steve.
Now it's Miller...err...free craft beer time. And crab cakes! Surely that is enough to barter my days off at a steep discount with colleagues who ski, enough to risk the winter white knuckle drive with the family through squinting though an Appalachian blizzard for the Lehigh Tunnel. As you might have noticed yesterday, I got out Lew's last book Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Breweries for some tips to start the planning. I have never been to Baltimore but any US city that can win Canada's second best sports trophy must be good enough for me.
Comments
Eric Trimmer - September 19, 2007 11:14 AM
I love Baltimore. It has tons of character and a lot of good, local beer, including Oliver's cask bitter -- one of my favorites.
Only $25 for non-contributers, eh? Sounds like a good deal to me. And I'm only a 45-minute drive away.
But unfortunately I will miss the event. I'm traveling a little further south for the holidays. From Pennsylvania to Disney World.
I wonder how the beer is in Orlando...
Matt - September 19, 2007 11:41 AM
Baltimore is a great city, I'm a native so I may be a little biased, but there are many wonderful local breweries & brew pubs. Cheers!
Alan - September 19, 2007 12:14 PM
Excellent. It looks like it is a go and I am going blind so any hints and tips are most welcome.
Eric Trimmer - September 19, 2007 4:01 PM
Alan,
Here's a Baltimore suggestion:
Have brunch at Bertha's. Scotch eggs, Mussels and Oliver's Best Bitter (they call it Bertha's Best Bitter - contract brewed).
It's a tiny place, long but very narrow, and there are only a few beers on tap, but the bartenders are friendly and there's a bunch of crazy stuff hanging from the ceiling - like an old diving suit, some fake fish and a mannequin wearing a Planet of the Apes mask.
Captain Hops - September 19, 2007 4:17 PM
Good Baltimore brewpubs:
The Brewer's Art<br/>
DuClaw Brewing<br/>
Alas, the Inner Harbor location of Capital City Brewing will be closed by then, but perhaps they will find a new Baltimore location.
Looks like a fun event. I will check my calendar...
Paul - September 20, 2007 5:33 AM
Go for it Alan. I've never been a big Christmas fan but this sounds like a good way to get away from the normal festivities. When I was a lad my great-uncle Jack would every year say "Christmas comes but once a year, and when it comes it brings good beer." He was never wrong !
Hans - October 9, 2007 11:24 AM
Al, Now that you've whetted our appetites, so to speak, regarding your imminent publication, would you be able to provide a brief synopsis of what your chapter is about (without giving away the whole plot)? In other words, what is "Beer and Autonomy" all about?