Woke surprisingly early for having given my body so much hops in the last 24 hours…so I showered and hit the streets of Baltimore before I have second thoughts about sleeping in.

Strolled by Camden Yards, and while “Fenway South” was empty, I could still envision a Sox win of 9-2, isn’t that usually the case.  Lucky me…as I was strolling through the emoty confines, I came along a Babe who just couldn’t take their eyes off me  -

Yeh, I can hear you groan…listen I am here all week…try the veal…

Oh…well, that is a lie too — I am leaving Sunday.

Ok, so it was cool to walk around Eutah Street where I am usually seeing thousands of people taking in a few beers and some food at Boog’s (which I find very overrated, but another story for another time).  But it is missing something…

As always, it is always a good bit of advice to watch out for batted balls.

I snapped a few photos of the empty park and even the dull green turf of Camden Yards was enough to excite a baseball fan.

Well, it was time to head down to my traditional breakfast spot…Miss Shirley’s right down past the Inner Harbor.

Love the eccentric menu at Miss Shirley’s and while their prices make you wish you were a member of the Orioles, the food is always good (to great).

I try to get something different each time, which is easy because of the plentiful options they have.  They also rotate a bit of their menu.  I snapped a picture of the menu so you could make your own choice…and pay your virtual tab.

Today, I felt like a savory start, so I opted for the Trio of Sliders (last time I had Pumpkin Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast….and talk about almost flattening all four tires on my truck…but yes, not this time).

One was bacon, eggs and sauce, another was goat cheese, roasted red peppers and colard greens and the last was pulled pork and eggs, all served on mini challah rolls.

And then, just like at McDonald’s, they played the ole “would you like fries with that”-gig, and I bit — “throw in hash browns!” says the man with a mouth bigger than his wallet…

Chow comes and it looks great –

And just in case I was missing sports from the trip, I was happy to see the hash browns came in the shape of a browned, crusty hockey puck — SCORE!!!!

All was very good…with the pulled pork being the only pedestrian one of the three.  Just kind of mild and dry.  But, hey — it helped provide a wonderful base for beer that would soon be washing down any dryness.

Time to actually hit the road for the main reason for this trip — SUDS!

Today, I take the 2 hour or so jaunt down to Delaware to visit the Dogfish Head brewery!  They have been quickly rising the charts of my favorites.  My tongue has finally imported taste buds that properly appreciate hops — so their 60 minute IPA, 90 minute IPA and Burton Baton (another IPA) have made my mouth feel like it was at a very tasty party!

Nice, easy ride down to Delaware.  Their brewery is in Milton, DE.  A town that looks like a nice quiet Hamlet, with a minimal amount of stop signs.

I loved the vibe of this place — maybe because they say they are about “off-centered stuff for off-centered people”…yes, I think I qualify –

First thing I notice is the cool signage, a bocce court out front for employees and then a “treehouse” which isn’t a tree at all.

I was a couple hours early for a tour, so I decided to visit the tasting room / gift shop.  I met two great ladies, one serving me beer (that makes her lovely right there) and another who cashed me out and asked if I could do anything to calm those crazy Red Sox fans that come to “Fenway South” in Baltimore.  I told her if you served Dogfish Head there, maybe they would have more interest in the beer than a Josh Beckett split finger….just sayin’

I got to try four varieties on tap this day –

• Namaste
• Raison D’Etre
• Indian Brown Ale
• Palo Santo Marron (they like calling this their Guinness on steroids — 12% alcohol)

All were excellent — I had not had “Raison” in many years and was not a fan — but I liked it this time…and learned that at some point, they changed the recipe.

I grabbed some garb and decided to head out for the 15 minute ride to Rehobeth Beach, DE — home of their brew pub. But, like any good traveler, I hit the bathroom before heading out…and boy am I glad I did….just for their signage on the bathroom -

Well, this was the day it had gotten cold and windy, but don’t tell that to the people down here — this beach community was MOBBED.  That included the brewpub — I spent 20 minutes just trying to slide my slim frame onto a bar stool (what?  it’s MY blog…I can say slim frame…no?)

Besides, the woman next to me eating with her mouth open (she had pumpkin bisque and a cheeseburger…I saw ALL of it — I know!!!), the place was great — being able to have delicious beer that I had only had out of a bottle was a great thing — I decided to go with the Burton Baton, which is listed as an “Occasional Rarity” on their web site — seems to fit me — it’s got 10% alcohol…so, beware of hitting the seat of your pants….

But, hey, time to up the ante – I ordered their 120 minute IPA — They like to call it their Holy Grail for Hop Heads – 18% alcohol — yup — BEWARE….your tongue will ask for more….but too much more, and “more” will sound like “muah”….

Oh — yeh – boring stuff – I got food too (yawn) — a special, dogfish tacos, apple slaw, chiptotle sour cream, side of black beans with sauteed tasso ham…  Very good black beans (not usually a fan), and the fish tacos were good, but I think the strong beer cornered the taste buds for that trip…so, the food never had a chance to shine.

Time to head back towards, Baltimore — I nice ride to reflect on delicious, FRESH beer….because, as you may know…Clayton likes it fresh….it says so….

Well, after a while of driving, it was time to feed the beer meter — I decided a stop in Annapolis would fit the bill.

I walked around the charming harbor, hobbled along the cobblestones and tried to figure out how the cadets from the Navel Academy can walk so surely over the cobblestones.

I took a look on Yelp which pointed me to the Galway Bay Irish Pub — where I sampled some Yeungling and a house IPA.

I decided to grab more food…and on a recommendation from the bartender, I got the Lamb French Dip….

Pretty simple sandwich, but rather pedestrian.  Fries were crispy, not soggy — always a plus when a moist french dip is sharing the plate’s real estate.

About four bites in, a guy ordering a beer leans in and says …”my friends and I can’t help but notice that you took a few pictures of your food….is that something you ALWAYS do?”  Well, the answer is, not really…only when I blog my trips –

He looked kind of confused…is this guy from Travel & Leisure or from the Annapolis Chess Club….but, he seemed to win the bet with his friends….as he smiled, patted me on the back and said “…that’s what I told them…I figured you were a blogger”.

Yeh….sometimes….when buckbites beckons….

Friday morning was uneventful after a good night’s sleep at the Downtown Marriott!

Maybe it is a reflection of quality beer, but surprisingly, a hangover has not barged into this trip as yet.

I started the meandering day (one with no real plan) by checking out the adjacent Reading Terminal Market — http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/ .  It’s a large place of food, produce and homemade goods!  And — to  my surprise, I did not eat anything there!  This was later diagnosed as being overwhelmed with choices.  The last place I passed before exiting was a cookie place…and I let the sweet lady talk the cookie lover in me to come over and grab some nourishment for the road.  Killer cookies — grabbed a white chocolate/macadamia nut, a chocolate chip/macadamia nut and a Almond Crunch (these were eaten later, first two killer — Almond Crunch was a dud).

What’s a few days without a couple errands?  I decided to beer shop in the Philly/King of Prussia area — stopped at 3 beer stores and collected some beer.  However, it was really a hunt for Pliny the Elder of Russian River (California), which is not available in many states.  I also looked for a Founders Stout for my friend Jim….and just like some of the baseball day, I was called out on three strikes.

Decided to hit the road and target a brewery I had mentally removed from the trip the day before — Troegs Brewery in Harrisburg PA.  They are renowned for their hoppy craft brew — especially their seasonal – Nugget Nectar!  I sprinted a Northwest a couple hours to get my does of the Nugget.

I stepped into this place — wonderful Tasting Room in this small brewery — decided to follow the route take by the women in front of me and get the “sampler” — which is 7 smaller snifters of each variety on tap – I figure they were about 5-6 ounces — not a bad deal for $7.

These brews ran the gamut from a JavaHead Stout to a Dreamweaver Wheat — My faves were the Nugget Nectar (they have a HUGE following for this beer) and the Hopback Red Ale –

It’s a nice presentation, with guides to tell you what you are drinking -

Don’t worry — took my time.  I even stopped for a 7th In ning stretch (see photo).

After grabbing a T shirt to pledge my allegiance to this hoppiness, it was back on the road — moving towards Baltimore and a small beer tasting at the home of lifelong friend, Brendan O’Brien.

Well, what is beer without a few snack?  Well, the answer is “Yummy” Beer…but, I am a sucker for snacks, so I stopped at the Utz Potato Chip Factory In Hanover, PA.  I stocked up for the beer tasting and I was on my way to battle traffic getting to Baltimore -

Got into the Marriott Hotel, near Camden Yards, about 7:00 and showered and packed the iced beverages to share.

Showed up around 8:00, good to see Brendan, who unfortunately had the flu this weekend.  Too bad his wife Judy was away this weekend.  Judy is always fun to share a Bloody Mary or other beverage with…..

We sampled some of what I brought from my favorite liquor store, Center Beverage in Stoneham and some of the ones Brendan and his friend Matt brought over.  Some of their beer, Brewer’s Art Resurrection, and Heavy Seas (multiple varieties) proved very nice.

With Brendan under the weather and me having a long day, it was time for us “old guys” to call it a night.  So, that capped a very nice beer tasting day -

Plan for the next day was to head to Delaware, to the Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton DE.

Will update when I likely get home — kind of mismanaging my time a bit….forgot that the blog takes time….

Well….I am dusting this blog off for the weekend — yes!, my weekend started on Thursday and will end Sunday or Monday….

The way I looked at it — I’ve been staring at all that snow….trudging to work and occasionally rewarding myself with some new brew to try (it’s a stage…..all us young folks go through them )

So — in typical last minute style that Clayton has become known for — I woke up Wednesday with no plans, by 8:30 AM, I considered driving for funky beer sometime this weekend….and before you know it, I had Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware on the docket —it always helps when Baltimore serves as a center of operations starting Friday night — My good friend Brendan (lifetime ERA in the 4.00 range?) will be hosting a beer tasting.  I have brought plenty of 12 ounce and 22 ounce samples for all of those who will be attending.

So…let’s just give you a rundown of yesterday –

I pulled out of Woburn just after 6:00 — and it was non-eventful ride.

The only things that come to mind is the number of dead deer by the side of the road in the small area of New York I drove through.  I mean, I was expecting some road kill in New York this year, but that roadkill wears pinstripes…  I did stop for coffee someone in New York and to my surprise, everyone working at the Panera Bread had all their own teeth and my truck went untouched in the parking lot.  This is always a good sign 

Funny billboard on the highway…. “Johnson College…97% of our graduates work in their field”…so, of course, I imagine they are a farmer’s college — who knew farmers went to college?? 

I did also get curious as I drove through PA, seeing a sign for Scranton-Wilkes Barre International Airport…. do you think this airport was a little rinky dinky thing before the success of Dunder Mifflin??? …what?  They aren’t a real company???  Let’s just say that from the highway, Scranton looked like a perfect place for The Office to take place.

Ok — so with a co-pilot on board, this trip was even easier than using just a GPS….my co-pilot can smell beer withing 375 miles (thankfully, Yeungling was just under that limit).

Thanks co-pilot!

So, Wally helped me locate the Yeungling Brewery, the oldest one in America -

And, before I even got outside, I could tell I wasn’t in Boston anymore…25 cents on a meter gets an hour!!!!  The old motel shaking beds didn’t even have that good a rate!  (Not to mention meter parking in Philly would be 25 cents for 8 minutes!).  Here’s the proof -

I had been introduced to Yeungling on one of my dozen Baltimore trips, maybe close to six or seven years ago and at the time I thought it was Baltimore’s local brew….not Pottsville, PA’s — but I have been set straight over the years — good beer!  I mean, s far as Lagers goes, this is top notch — It turns out I was in time for their 1:30 tour, so I was looking forward to it — Here is a taste (sorry, not of the beer) of the place:

You’ll find it in hard working city nestles in some of the Pennsylvania hills.  In a town called Pottsville.

Many of the workers have been here for life.  “Nobody leaves” the brewery was what we were told.  Which is kind of creepy….I mean, where are they buried???

Well, they are all local, and even some walk to work — which is kind of Laverne and Shirley like if you think about it.

We were able to examine where they brew the beer, even though brewing had finished for the day.  We then moved onto the bottling part of the operation, which was in full swing — I’d like to tell you more about it, but so much of that was a blur —

And, sadly, they are not taking applications.  In fact, they never post jobs.  The owner personally will go to some of his good employees and ask if they know a good person for a job….pretty cool, old-fashioned…

Near the end of the tour, they showed us part of the brewery that isn’t used anymore — The Cave.

They built this brewery into the side of a hill and used a cave, 50 feet under the brewery to store their beer.  Pretty cool place, stays at 50 degrees all year round — but, it no longer serves a purpose other than an interesting part of the tour.

We were then allowed two samples of our choice of the 7 varieties they had on tap that day – and I decided to try two I had never had — all about Options…. I tried the Lord Chesterfield Ale — decent, and the “Premium”, which was very good.  The tour guide said it was a local favorite and doesn’t ship far at all out of the area….maybe within an hour ride.

Beer is not sold at the brewery (to the public).  Employees can buy it and they often get beer the day it is bottled…and you thought I was fresh!!!! 

They pointed me 5 blocks away to my kind of beer store — just beer, just cases!  (ok, ok, they sell soda too, I mean people get hangovers I guess…)

Well, I was off with my beer, including some cases for friends and family.  Headed toward Downingtown, PA and the home of Victory Beer.

Nestled into a business park is this great brewery and brewpub, like an oasis really!  I went in and sampled the goods…Golden Monkey Tripel I guess it was….pretty y

ummy, and a high alcohol content.  The place was nice, but I limited myself to 30 minutes or so.

It was time to actually eat some real food — man cannot eat just beer.  Did I just type that??

I had Yelped for a place — and located the Station Taproom, right in Downingtown.  The beer menu looked impressive and reviews online were very good.  I had planned on getting a lamb burger, as it had great reviews online.  But — first — beer.

I ordered an Ommegang Witte (  All those past trips to Cooperstown and now, I find out that this brewery is there as well.  Roadtrip?

Maybe….

I got the rundown on the specials, reviewed the menu and changed my plan.  I would get the wine braised short rib with bacon braised collard green egg roll, served with horseradish cream sauce.

I also decided to get one of the specials — shrimp carbonara.

Egg roll —- Awesome!  I would rate they four and a half “bucks”, only missing buck perfection because the yummy horseradish sauce, also delicious, is perhaps mis-matched here, kind of overshadowing the great egg roll.

The carbonara — Umm, I just give them a half a buck, because I don’t want them to get shut out — I mean the shrimp were large, but the dish had no life.  I salted it twice and added pepper four times.  The person at the bar next to me smirked when I went back to the pepper well for the third time.

The pasta in this bowl was mealy, and fell apart with a good stir.  The parmesan that was supposed to dress the top was lifeless with no salty bite.  This was a true Clayton error — next time, lamb burger.

It was off for the hour ride to Philly — great hotel room Downtown Marriott.  Compliments of a good rate at Priceline (again).

Showered and out on the town, just for a splash of beer.

Two blocks away at a place called Fergie’s, they were featuring Allagash Beer — from Portland Maine.  The brewer/owner was in da house and it seemed like the right thing to do -
I am a big Allagash fan and I was not disappointed in the choices I made:

• Allagash Big Little
• Allagash Grand Cru, and
• Allagash White Ale (an old fave of mine)

Pretty easy to sleep after that day……I kind of wish I was still sleeping…but I had to dust off the blog — sorry this entry suffers from run-on’s, misspellings, lack of plan….Clayton is out of practice.

Headed to Baltimore at some point today — just don’t know the plan between now and then.

….Over and Out!