Brew

Ram's Head to expand, hopes to brew own beerRam's Head Tavern, a West Street landmark claiming to serve "The World's Best Beer," will expand on Oct. 1 into a former dry cleaners.But the tavern has a more ambitious plan for one year from now -- to be the first brew pub in Annapolis, said Wayne Fertitta, the general manager.Following the lead of brew pubs in Baltimore and Washington, Ram's Head plans to make and sell beer on the premises.The tavern's goal is to serve "the freshest possible brew," he said.

Kitchen tip realbeer.com If you want to talk beer, learn how to make mead or just find a place to down a cold one, this site is a good stop. There are links to home-brew recipes, beer festivals and beer news, along with a busy message board. Kate Shatzkin

Who's hot Greg Maddux of the Braves hasn't lost in his past 11 starts, going 5-0 since a 4-3 loss April 30. Who's not Jose Hernandez of the Brew ers has struck out 99 times this season, tops in the majors. Line of the day Paul Konerko, White Sox 1B AB R H RBI HR 4 4 4 4 2

If it wasn't Amy Brew at one end of the field, it was Kate Brew at the other. Or Annapolis' other set of sisters, Cristi and Stephy Samaras, at the offensive end with Amy.Amy had two goals, Cristi had two goals and two assists, Stephy had one and goalie Kate had 12 saves.The sisters' combined efforts were enough to overwhelm No. 8 Broadneck. No. 5 Annapolis remained undefeated with its fifth straight victory yesterday, 9-5 over the host Bruins (2-2).The game served as a tuneup for both teams for their confrontations this week with No. 1 Severna Park.

MARVIN L. Haskins is a quiet man who loves his coffee and drinks so much of it they should erect a statue in his honor in every coffee field in Colombia. In fact, he's so into coffee that he's invented a portable coffeemaker called Mornin' Brew designed especially for cars and trucks, including the 18-wheeler loaded with gas and heating oil that he drives for Amerado-Hess. Many of the details of Mornin' Brew are hush-hush; plans for it have been submitted to Invent-Tech, a company in Coral Gables, Fla., that tries to link new inventions with interested manufacturers.

The history of beer-making and a guide to the best-brewed beers in America are topics of a new CD-ROM called the Beer Hunter.Published by the Discovery Channel, the $40 CD-ROM lists the top 24 premium beers surveyed by British beer connoisseur and author Michael Jackson. The CD-ROM is available now for PCs and soon for Macintosh computers.The CD-ROM is a manifestation of a resurgence in beer-making as a business and a hobby."There has been a virtual renaissance of small brewers nationwide, and California and the Pacific Northwest are leading the trend," said Andreas Heller, brew master at Tied House Cafe and Brew Pub in Mountain View, Calif.

The Ravens' offensive line, one of the best in pro football, will meet one of the best defensive lines in the NFL Sunday when the Ravens play San Francisco.The 49ers start Bryant Young and Dana Stubblefield at the tackles, and Roy Barker and Chris Doleman at the ends.San Francisco allows only 88.2 yards rushing per game. Barker and Young each have eight sacks. Doleman has five.Meanwhile, the Ravens' offensive line has fueled an offense rated No. 3 in the league, second in passing offense.

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.

Was it the lack of a pass rush, injuries, poor cover skills or too many blown coverages that caused the Ravens' secondary to be exposed repeatedly as the league's most porous backfield last year?Probably an unhealthy dose of each. And after an off-season in which safety Eric Turner departed for Oakland via free agency, ++ safety Rondell Jones left Denver for Baltimore, and safeties Kim Herring and Ralph Staten come on board through the draft, the Ravens are hoping their shaky secondary emerges as a strength.

To Grandpa David, late of Auschwitz 5) When neighbors light November fires and landscapes turn the color of grief When tree limbs shiver, bony with loss He goes up in smoke again. Fall is no celebration of a summer well gathered: it is a hand not held a story not told. The year's small holocaust begins again. The Zoo That I Am Every morning my mooseness upon he I stumble our hall to the caffeine-laced brew. He, full of news, tries verbal connections, forgetting each day that moose in the morning cannot properly process two words in a row. I blink him a sluggish hello.