Heavy Seas Burgers & Brews
Saturday a group of us attended the Heavy Seas Burger & Brews event at their brewery in Baltimore. Included in the $40 ticket was a slider from 10 Baltimore area restaurants, beer infused ice cream from The Charmery, and unlimited Heavy Seas beers, including some specialty casks.
The 10 restaurants were:
- C&R Pub - The Manor Tavern - Koopers Tavern - Our House - Alexander’s Tavern - Heavy Seas Alehouse - Wiley Gunters - The Rowhouse Grille - T-Bonz Grille - Kloby’s Smokehouse
The Manor Tavern had a fabulous Mac & Cheese Burger, which ended up winning the prize for best burger of the day. It was composed of local beef and bison, an everything brioche bun, and cheddar. The meat was perfectly packed and flavored. And, added bonus, they had jars of homemade pickles to snack on! I would definitely make a trip out to Monkton, MD to hit up Manor Tavern after having their burger!
Kloby's Smokehouse in Fulton, Maryland also brought a winner. I'm already a HUGE fan of Kloby's and eat there at least once a month. For those even remotely close to Columbia, its well worth a visit. They make some of the best barbecue in the DC area and have a fantastic tap list as well. They brought a smokehouse burger to the event, which doesn't seem to be listed on their regular menu. I hope they add it on (hint, hint)!
Other notable burgers included C&R Pub's burger with cheddar fondue and Wiley Gunter's All-American burger with a build-your-own approach. Both had a great burger base. C&R's sharp cheddar sauce was to die for, and I appreciated the simplicity of Wiley Gunter's well flavored patty with bacon and veggie toppings available...I'm a sucker for L,T.O on my burger.
The Charmery, a local ice cream shop in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore brought two fantastic flavors of beer infused ice cream. Riptide White IPA with banana and cloves was creamy and sweet, with tons of fresh banana flavor and a hint of hops. The PegLeg Stout with chocolate and coffee was intensely flavored, and ohhhh so good. I hear their Old Bay Caramel flavor is quite the hit, so I'm making that my first scoop when I make it to the storefront!
Heavy Seas offered all their year-round beers and several casks. I can't say that I've every had all of the "usual" offerings, so several were new to me! Loose Cannon, which has never been one of my favorites, was smoother and much better balanced that I remember. Honestly, it has been several years since I last had one. Powder Monkey Pale Ale is a clean English style pale ale, and great for a backyard barbecue!
Of the casks, the PegLeg was a clear favorite, and I generally prefer my stouts to be served at the cask temperature anyway. I never got to try the Grapefruit Ale cask, which was disappointing...it must have been tasty, it disappeared in minutes! Siren Noire was super intense, which isn't exactly surprising as a chocolate imperial stout. It was a bit heavier than I needed after 11 sliders, but would make a great dessert pairing beer!
It was an amazing event, at an amazing value. I would definitely recommend checking out their calendar for upcoming events, as they all sell out, and some sell out quite quickly after tickets become available. While I only wrote about 2 of the 11 participating restaurants, each brought a quality sample and a great staff to the event. Thanks again to Heavy Seas for opening up their brewery for such a fun, eye opening day!