Lager

For decades, National Premium has been a hazy, distant memory. Stored-away memorabilia and faded beer ads were all that remained of its once-storied legacy. That may change next year. Tim Miller, an Easton real estate agent, has acquired the trademark and has ambitious plans to bring the beer back to the Baltimore market by next baseball season. He has secured the formula and announced a new, spiffy logo. Capital investment and brewing are next. National Premium's comeback will test the already-stretched trend of revived beer brands that includes Schlitz and Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Canton's getting another beer bar and restaurant this fall. Called Canton Beer Exchange, it will feature a novel concept where draft beer prices change according to consumption. Consulting for the bar, which takes over at 2522 Fait Ave. from Lager's Pub, is a familiar face: Jason Zink.  Until now, Zink had mostly worked out of Federal Hill . He owns No Idea Tavern and until June, Don't Know Tavern, which he sold to pay off legal bills stemming from a labor lawsuit brought on by former employees.

Heavy Seas Beer, which earned high marks from b's Top 20 Maryland Beers list last month, has major plans for 2013. At the top of the list, at least to this beer drinker, is the Halethorpe-based brewery's "preliminary" decision to distribute its beers in cans, including Loose Cannon, Davy Jones' Lager and an Oktoberfest style. The cans' availability has yet to be determined, according to spokeswoman Jenn Ladd. There's also a planned overhaul of Heavy Seas' line of Mutiny Fleet beers.

Starting Oct. 14, Frederick's Flying Dog Brewery begins serving its beer at M&T Bank Stadium  Flying Dog's beer will be available at a storefront in the lower concourse of the stadium (Section 117, Gate B). The brewery's starting lineup includes UnderDog Atlantic Lager, Snake Dog IPA, and Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale. All beers will be available on draft. Flying Dog beer was served throughout Oriole Park at Camden Yards this season, along with food pairings from Camden Yards chefs.  “We are really excited about any opportunity to support our local teams,” said Ben Savage,  Flying Dog vice president of brand promotion.

The former bottling plant in the Abell neighborhood has been all but abandoned for years. The Beverage Capital Corp. sign outside has faded. The white office walls have yellowed. A nearby mechanic uses the space that used to hold the bottling line as a parking lot. But when J. Hollis Albert tours the cavernous 48,000-square-foot facility, he imagines new life inside - brewers tinkering with formulas, bubbling fermentation tanks, beer bottles being filled and capped. Albert and Stephen Demczuk, owner of microbrewery Baltimore-Washington Beer Works, are in the final stages of opening Peabody Heights Brewery, which would be the city's first large-scale brewery in more than 30 years.

Canton Bar Tour Where: Canton When: 1 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday Why: Because it is time to get out of that rut and try a few new places. Registration for the tour gets you $1.50 pints at participating bars and half-price appetizers. Bars on the tour include Loony's, Claddagh Pub, JD's Smokehouse, Lager's Pub, Rick's Cafe, Coburn's, The Gin Mill, Pickled Parrot and Purple Pepper Cafe. Information: Register 1 p.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday at Loony's. The bar is at 2900 O'Donnell St. Call 800-422-7295 or visit www.lindypromo.

Frank & Nic's West End Grille is offering something different for Valentine's Day - a beer dinner. Featuring Sam Adams brews, the four-course dinner will be served at 8 p.m. on Feb. 14. The menu begins with a carrot, ginger and crab soup followed by a scotch egg. The main course is veal scallopini with a Boston Lager demi-glace, and the dessert course is hard-cider baked apples with vanilla paired ice cream. A Samuel Adams representative will be on hand to guide the dinner and for beer chats.

Have cheese with your beer John Shields, chef / owner of Gertrude's at the Baltimore Museum of Art and host of Maryland Public Television's Coastal Cooking With John Shields, calls Tillamook Cheddar Cheese and Lager Soup "a fantastic soup for the cooler weather, especially good served with a hearty loaf of crusty bread." "A thermos full of this creamy soup would be a sure crowd-pleaser at a Ravens tailgate party," he says. TILLAMOOK CHEDDAR CHEESE AND LAGER SOUP SERVES 4 AS A MAIN DISH 4 tablespoons butter 4 tablespoons flour 3 cups milk 1 tablespoon garlic, minced salt and pepper, to taste 1 teaspoon crushed red chiles, chopped 2 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 3 / 4 cup dark beer Heat butter in saute pan. Add flour and cook on low heat.

Only 15 years old, L.P. Steamers feels like it has been around much longer. In a relatively short time, it's become an institution where locals bring their out-of-town friends to sample Maryland seafood standards. The restaurant serves as crab house, cultural ambassador and local hangout, which is all the more impressive, considering it's squeezed into a rowhouse in Locust Point. Dark wooden timbers, dim lighting and a map covered in money from around the world makes the downstairs look like the inside of an old ship.

National Premium is coming back next year, says the beloved beer's new owner. Tim Miller, a 43-year-old realtor out of Easton bought the trademark last year and is now working to bring the beer back to the market. So far his revival is in its fetal stage: he doesn't have the formula yet, or a brewer to produce the beer, or investment partners. All Natty Premium's got to show for itself is a website , a Facebook fan page, and a twitter account, which Miller launched on Monday.