Brewery

Baltimore police say they found a teenager with a gunshot wound to one of his legs early Saturday afternoon in East Baltimore, about a block from the old American Brewery. The 17-year-old victim, who was not identified by police, was discovered in the 1600 block of N. Bradford Street just before 1:30 pm. Police had no suspect or motive for the shooting. — Dan Rodricks

On a recent Saturday afternoon, a man addressed a crowd of about 50 at a brewery right outside Baltimore and said, "Let us pray. " He raised his arm, looked over his flock and solemnly intoned: "Our lager which art in barrels, thy will be drunk, at the Heavy Seas Beer Tour. Give us this day our foamy heads, and forgive us our spillages, as we forgive those who spill against us. " The man wasn't a tipsy priest, but Hugh Sisson, founder of Heavy Seas, who delivers the same speech before the two or three tours that pass through his brewery almost every Saturday.

Baltimore is getting its first beer week, and I say it's about time. This city has had beer bubbling in its veins for years. Tomorrow evening, Boog Powell, the former Oriole slugger who has become this town's friendly father figure, will crack open a cask in a ceremony aboard the USS Constellation, and 10 days of sudsy activities, everything from the massive Oktoberfest party at the Timonium Fairgrounds to neighborhood pub crawls, will follow. This town deserves it. Its neighborhoods, its culture, its sense of itself have been strongly influenced by beer.

Jed Weeks follows the rhythms of the beer calendar. The 24-year-old who lives in Mount Vernon knows that as the seasons change, so do the offerings of craft brewers. These days brewers are rolling out their Oktoberfest beers, traditionally Marzen lagers, slightly sweet and nutty. Its annual autumnal release has been the inspiration of Oktoberfest celebrations from Germany, which started reveling in Munich on Saturday, to the Oct. 10 gathering of Maryland brewers at the Timonium Fairgrounds.

When Brian Frueh and his wife, Lynda, traveled to Ocean City this summer for a week of vacation they brought their taste for craft beer with them. And so on a recent Friday afternoon the couple was lunching at Island Oasis, a small restaurant on Route 611 just west of Ocean City. Choosing from 12 beers on tap, Frueh sampled a Pale Ale from Evolution, a new craft brewery in Delmar, Del., just north of Salisbury. After lunch he enjoyed a glass of Peg Leg Stout, made in Baltimore by Clipper City Brewing.

The microwave ovens were still in their boxes as of mid-morning. Employees were just getting accustomed to the new phone system and computers. But that didn't detract from the main event at 1701 N. Gay St. yesterday: For the first time in 36 years, people were working inside Baltimore's historic American Brewery. Thursday was move-in day for Humanim, a 37-year old nonprofit that provides training, job placement and other services for Central Maryland residents. Previously located in Columbia, Humanim bought the Victorian landmark in November 2007 and has spent $22 million during the past 16 months converting it to its headquarters.

Their jobs at the old National Brewery in Highlandtown were the best they would ever hold. Decades after the "Land of Pleasant Living" ceased brewing golden suds on the Patapsco's banks, salesmen, accountants, promoters and engineers gathered at a Parkville bar and restaurant, swapped stories and savored the malt and hops now produced by Miller Brewing Co. Bill Costello, who once worked as National's advertising director, put it this way: "When you...

LEONARD J. MAGSAMEN, born January 3, 1921, went home to be with the Lord on March 26, 2009, at the age of 88. He is preceded in death by his wife Eleanor. He is survived by his son, Leonard J. Magsamen, Jr., and his wife, Julie of San Antonio, TX; grandchildren, Kelly and Kate Magsamen, David and Aaron Childers and niece, Verna Bartels. Leonard was WWII Veteran. He received a Bronze Star and other decorations. He was a driver for Sealtest Dairy and Carling Brewery in the Baltimore area.

Sam Culotta helped keep his family warm during winter by salvaging firewood from the houses being torn down for an extra tunnel the Pennsylvania Railroad was then constructing under Hoffman Street. "It was a poor community," said Sam, an attorney who went on to serve in World War II and run for mayor as a Republican.