Ram's Head Tavern (Brewpub)

Beer Log: December 13, 2007
Status: Hungry and Dehydrated.

Had a long run this morning (training for a Half Marathon), so I'm a little hungry and thirsty.

And here we go, continuing with my Winter Vacation. The wife's mother offered to take us to an historic brewpub if I covered the bill. Fantastic, I guess. So we hops (heh) in the car and end up at the Old Savage Mill in Savage, MD. Beautiful historic neighborhood and ambiance, as this old mill has since been converted to a Brewery and Brewpub. There beer is supplied by Fordham Brewing Co.

http://www.ramsheadtavern.com/savage/index.html
http://www.fordhambrewing.com/

I have to say that one day after DuClaw, I found this one to be too conservative. They fit their ambiance, as Ram's Head location looks like something out of a Christmas Card, and thus they were very conservative with their beers. DuClaw was in a mall and they probably clear out the chairs at midnight to fire up the techno and crazy white boy music, hence the wild names and many seasonals. Back to Ram's Head: if we're going to craft brew, let's effing craft brew. No need to make YOUR version of Miller Lite. There were some good ones in there, so let's not pooh pooh the whole thing. And to think, I had just run 5 miles an hour earlier, and was too stupid to not drink any water. Talk about low hangin fruit.

Last part was that the waiter had no clue what was going on with the beer. Didn't know what the seasonals were or anything. I'm no snob, but I've come to expect brewpubs and beer bars to have knowledgeable waiters or waitresses. Then again, I think he may have been there help to the post brunch rush. The gent brought out the flight of 6 beers and the four of us went at it. As usual, I post these beers in the order in which I tried them.

Light:
Yup, they called a beer "Light". No smell, uninspiring. Had a straw color with a light head. Light hops with no hint of malt, though the carbonation lasts in the aftertaste. I like a good tingle, but maybe not from carbo. Kinda reminded me of Miller light.

Fordham Lager:
no scent I could find, with light to medium hops. Not malty, and the word "pilsner" came to mind. Smooth with moderate flavor, drinkable. Goes down dry with a quick finish. Something I could drink with the boys at a Texans tailgate in September.

Tavern Ale: I'm getting butter flavor, with moderate hops, and bitter. Very much reminds me of an American Pale-Ale, with a long lasting hops aftertaste.

Around this time I noticed that there were asterisks on some of the beers on the menu, as in these are for sale at the local liquor store. Fantastic! They are taking 'er easy on the flavor for MASS distribution. The stuff I've tasted at other brewpubs would likely scare off the average sista at the Applebees. Smart move.

And we just got the Fish and Chips.

Copperhead Ale:
Slightly spicy, light hops, not as smooth as the tavern ale.

Oak Barrel Stout:
Ah, my wife loves this one. Of course she drink chocolate milk like Amy Winehouse smokes the schtuff. So the smoke and roasted malt goes well with her. Tastes kind of like an espresso, with a deep brown color (amber on the corners) and very light hops.

Doppelbock:
It's basically a darker Shiner Bock, malty with good balance of hops, relatively sweet.

After the flight, we sat around shooting the shit for an hour and I got a full glass of...

Hoaegaarden (Belgian Wit): Light straw colored and cloudy. it was citrusy, very smooth, with the word 'grapefruit' coming to mind. I notice the head is very sustaining, and there is now some light hops. As it warms up, I taste something like apples.

The wife also ordered a full glass of...

Old Dominion Pale Ale:
Very hoppy bitter, with a very quick finish. Kinda like having a quickie before going out to work. There is some spice in there, kinda like cinnamon, nice and malty.

All in all, a good experience.