Beer

The folks at the Maryland SPCA are at it again, thinking up another fun, new event to support homeless dogs and cats. Pyrates for Pups will be Friday, Sept. 21, from 5 to 9 p.m. at Baltimore's Swann Park. On the docket: A fleet of food trucks, Heavy Seas beer, live music from Hanover Blue and, of course, adorable pets you can adopt. Bring your dog for off-leash play at the nearby Downtown Dog Resort & Spa if you'd like. Free admission. Concession charages go to help the MD SPCA.

Alonso's in Roland Park is an unpretentious restaurant in a pretentious part of the city. Since 1931, it's been serving modest food and good beer to much acclaim and many satisfied customers. It hasn't changed one bit over the years. Well over three-quarters full and bustling is how we found Alonso's on a Wednesday night. A relaxed crowd of older patrons, families and couples filled the seats and booths. The missing tiles in the ceiling suggested that Alonso's is renovating (it's not)

Last September, the Burley Oak Brewing Company opened up about 8 miles inland in Berlin. The new brewery rapidly gained local popularity, and you can now find their beers in more than 32 bars, including an ever-expanding list in Ocean City. The care with which they make their beers is what has made it a real local favorite. "I think people want a product they connect with more than just your average, mass produced beer," said head brewer Sean Sasscer. "All our beer is made with a lot of love and a lot of local ingredients.

At last, beer - at least here in Howard County - has attained the level of sophistication that wine achieved decades ago. That is due in part to the monthly beer-tasting dinners hosted by Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia. Usually held on Tuesday or Wednesday nights, participants - 40 or so - are treated to a variety of styles from one particular boutique brewery Such beers are a cut above the plebian beverages to which manh people become accustomed at sports bars, ball games and crab feasts.

THIS IS AN ode to cooking with beer,a suitable pastime for this time of year.Fire up the grill and break out the suds,dress down in your short-shorts and comfortable duds.Beer can add zest to sausage and chicken,or to steak or to fish or whatever you're flickin'over charcoal or gas grill or volcanic rockbaste with pilsner or lite beer or even with bock.Grab a stick and a Mick and some shish kebab meatand skewer your dinner, a summertime treat.Add some beer-battered rings from an onion and see,Glum guests on the deck overtaken by glee.

The words "beer food" bring to mind items like pretzels, peanuts and pizza. But at Red Brick Station in White Marsh the term means mussels steamed in ale, fish dipped in a beery batter and meat marinated in stout. Here, the beer is often in the food. It works, in part because the beer is fresh. There is a brewery on the premises, between the bar and the dining room. It also works because the kitchen has a nice touch with spices. The concept here is to serve English-style ales and English pub fare.

There's only one way to find out whether a brew tastes good: Drink it.And there's only one way to determine if non-alcoholic beers can hold their frothy heads high among those who know what beer should taste like: Have a bunch of Serious Beer Drinkers conduct a taste test.So, after a little grumbling, some Serious Beer Drinkers agreed to sample some non-alcoholic beers. They were asked to judge these faux brews for what they are -- a drink that's brewed to have all the qualities of beer but none of the alcohol.

Alfred E. Davies, who, with his wife, operated a beer distributorship in Elkridge, died Tuesday of cancer at his home in Kingsville. He was 68.He began his career as a salesman for the Narragansett Brewing Co. after leaving college."

Lisa Lemanski from Easthampton, Mass., was looking for a recipe for chicken cooked with beer. Patricia Butrow from Baltimore sent in her recipe. It calls for a whole chicken cut up, but it could be made using any parts of the chicken you prefer. I made mine using breast pieces only. Start to finish, the recipe took about an hour to prepare, and the result was tasty and succulent. Butrow says she likes to pair the chicken with rice, steamed string beans, apple cider and toasted rye bread.

The recipe was born, as many questionable ideas are, with a beer. In this instance, it was a leftover beer, a rarity. Last Saturday I had poured myself a beer without realizing that the Kentucky Derby and therefore mint-julep sipping time was right around the corner. Rather than chugging the beer, I vowed to find it a happy home. That was when I spotted some frozen chicken breasts thawing on the kitchen counter. Inspiration, or something like it, struck. "Pour the beer on the chicken," a voice inside my head told me. "Not only will the beer thaw the frozen bird, it will also give it flavor."