National Bohemian

There's a transformation taking place this fall that is obvious from the former National Brewery in Brewers Hill. On a terrace just below the iconic Mr. Boh sign, I observed a construction army at work along Conkling and Dean streets. Over the summer, they labored on the creation of more than 600 new apartment rental units in low-rise buildings. Week by week, floors rose. Balconies appeared. Parking decks arrived. And sweeps disappeared down an ancient brick powerhouse chimney. For years, this eastern end of Canton was a hard-toiling industrial neighborhood, served by ships and rail sidings, surrounded by rowhouses and dotted with church steeples.

Last Wednesday, as New York Yankees pitcher Hiroki Kuroda pitched to the Orioles' lineup, All Stars Sports Bar failed to live up to its name. The downtown bar, located to the right of the gentleman's club The Goddess and 1/8 of a mile from Camden Yards, looked the part at first glance: There was a long bar with more than 15 seats, three mounted flatscreen TVs above the bar and framed Ravens posters lining the walls. But after a few blinks, the problems became apparent. Before going any further, let's make this point clear: My expectations were not of a jam-packed bar such as Pickles Pub or even Pratt Street Ale House, an underrated spot to watch a game.

To mark the 20th anniversary of Oriole Park at Camden Yards , Pabst Brewing Company is releasing commemorative National Bohemian cans.  For a limited time, your regular 16-ounce Natty Bohs will feature new packaging that has a brawny Mr. Boh swinging a bat and the Baltimore skyline in the background. His head is roughly as big as the Natty Boh logo on the can. The cans have been released to wholesellers already and should be making their way to any bar or liquor store that already carries Boh, said a spokeswoman for Pabst.

For weeks, my inbox, Twitter timeline and ears have burned. Readers and colleagues can't stop talking about WC Harlan, a new bar in Remington. The praise has been gushing and unanimous. To them, WC Harlan is a wonder. But there was something else: The bar's owners - Matt Pierce of the local band Big in Japan and writer Lane Harlan - are not interested in publicity and would prefer we not list its address. During a time when bars hire public relations teams to generate buzz via social media and other outlets, WC Harlan would rather find success through solid execution and word-of-mouth marketing.

If you've stayed away from the Internet or Baltimore bars in the past two weeks, you might not have heard that National Bohemian is back on tap. Owner Pabst Brewing Co. made the announcement in late January and has sold kegs of the historic Baltimore brew to at least 80 locations in Maryland. Some eight bars were selected to host official keg-tapping parties, and while most of them have happened already, there are two — White Marsh's Della Rose's and Columbia's Frisco Tap and Brew House — that will take place next week.

It's been 15 years since National Bohemian left Maryland, but Patrick McCusker remembers it almost as bitterly as the day Robert Irsay took the Colts out of Baltimore. He grew up with the beer. In the 1970s, everyone's basement bar sported pictures of three icons: the Colts, the Orioles and the dapper, mustachioed Mr. Boh. This week, McCusker and other fans of the popular beer got some small satisfaction. Owner Pabst Blue Ribbon announced that Natty Boh would return to the state, on tap. "It's not as big a deal as the Colts coming back to Baltimore, but it's pretty close," said McCusker, who owns Canton's Nacho Mama's, the bar and restaurant that will tap the first keg of Natty on Feb. 3. Until now Boh was only available canned or by the bottle.

National Bohemian beer — popularly known as Natty Boh — will be sold on draft this season at Oriole Park at Camden Yards , according to a Pabst Brewing Co. representative. The beer will be available throughout the ballpark at the April 4 home season opener, said Rachel Anne Warren, a retail sales specialist with Pabst Brewing Co. Warren said sales of the beer, once marketed under the slogan, "Brewed in the Land of Pleasant Living," had exceeded expectations after it was reintroduced on tap at the end of January.

In an attempt to revive its much-ignored local beer, the maker of National Bohemian has added a light brew to its line.Officials at the G. Heileman Brewing Co. said last night that they are starting to market Bohemian Light beer in an effort to recapture a larger share of the market for the brand that was once the dominant beer in Baltimore.Heileman, which emerged from federal bankruptcy protection three months ago, is making batches of 10,000 to 15,000 cases of Bohemian Light at its brewery in Halethorpe, said John Gaustad, a local spokesman.

For weeks, my inbox, Twitter timeline and ears have burned. Readers and colleagues can't stop talking about WC Harlan, a new bar in Remington. The praise has been gushing and unanimous. To them, WC Harlan is a wonder. But there was something else: The bar's owners - Matt Pierce of the local band Big in Japan and writer Lane Harlan - are not interested in publicity and would prefer we not list its address. During a time when bars hire public relations teams to generate buzz via social media and other outlets, WC Harlan would rather find success through solid execution and word-of-mouth marketing.

Governor Martin O'Malley narrowly avoided a minor Twitter storm over beer Saturday morning after making a bet with the governor of California on the Super Bowl . Friday afternoon, he responded to a wager with California Gov. Jerry Brown by staking a case of Natty Boh. But Saturday morning, the Brewers Association of Maryland posted a message asking O'Malley to support the local economy and consider putting up a tasty beverage that is...

Special edition National Bohemian cans have commemorated the Ravens and the Orioles, but never, in anyone's memory, has a Natty Boh can honored an individual. That was before Scunny. On Wednesday, National Bohemian, now owned by the Pabst Brewing Co., will issue a limited edition commemorative can honoring Patrick “Scunny” McCusker, whose death last August elicited a widespread outpouring of admiration for his philanthropic efforts and ebullient personality. A fan of all things Baltimore, McCusker's funeral procession was led by a truck emblazoned with the Mr. Boh logo.

Governor Martin O'Malley narrowly avoided a minor Twitter storm over beer Saturday morning after making a bet with the governor of California on the Super Bowl . Friday afternoon, he responded to a wager with California Gov. Jerry Brown by staking a case of Natty Boh. But Saturday morning, the Brewers Association of Maryland posted a message asking O'Malley to support the local economy and consider putting up a tasty beverage that is...

These days, one of the hardest reservations to make in Baltimore is a table at Ouzo Bay, the eye-catching Greek restaurant that opened in Harbor East in September. Boosted by reviews from critics and devoted Yelpers, Ouzo Bay has quickly become a new favorite among Baltimore foodies. Talk to people who've dined at Ouzo Bay and they'll quickly list their favorite aspects - the South Beach-like decor, the attractive outdoor patio, the attentive servers, the wild-caught fish. Even the intricate work of pastry chef Akis Anagnostou rightfully earns raves.

Even before the lights began blinking Saturday night on West 34th Street in Hampden, there was a clear audience favorite among this year's over-the-top neighborhood Christmas display. Clusters of people were stopping well before dusk to admire an oversized can of National Bohemian beer made of plywood, positioned to pour strings of lights representing the sparkling fizz of the brew that has been embraced by Baltimore into a giant pint glass. Both the red can and the amber glass are mounted to the second-story of a rowhouse.

There's a transformation taking place this fall that is obvious from the former National Brewery in Brewers Hill. On a terrace just below the iconic Mr. Boh sign, I observed a construction army at work along Conkling and Dean streets. Over the summer, they labored on the creation of more than 600 new apartment rental units in low-rise buildings. Week by week, floors rose. Balconies appeared. Parking decks arrived. And sweeps disappeared down an ancient brick powerhouse chimney. For years, this eastern end of Canton was a hard-toiling industrial neighborhood, served by ships and rail sidings, surrounded by rowhouses and dotted with church steeples.

Is there a better Baltimore corner bar (actually located on a corner) than Kisling's Tavern? It's the type of bar Baltimoreans will always love - unassuming, no frills, just delicious, greasy bar food and an ample beer selection. Walk into the Canton spot on any given night and you'll likely see a mix of social sports league teams, old-time regulars and satisfied chicken-wing lovers. Kisling's takes its wings seriously, offering more than a dozen flavors, ranging from Asian Ginger to Honey Dijon.

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.

At the top of the seventh inning Monday night, despair was setting in at Camden Yards. The Orioles trailed the Minnesota Twins by three runs, and there was little time for the team to pick up the slack. It was the kind of moment that could have used the numbing effect of beer to stave off the feeling of doom, or at least make the eventual loss go down easier. The only vendor nearby was selling Budweiser and Miller Lite. It was exactly what I'd heard about Oriole Park's beer selection: heavy on the domestic brews, and expensive to boot.

From the Midnight Sun blog: On Thursday afternoon the cramped Canton bar Nacho Mama’s was log-jammed. Inside the bar, which is decorated like a shrine to National Bohemian, there were more people than Mr. Boh logos on the walls. The waitresses had a hard time delivering their regular orders. It wasn’t a flash-mob. The crowd, evenly split between young and rickety old-timers, was there to toast the tapping of one the first keg of Natty Boh in 15 years. Last week, Boh owner Pabst Brewing Company announced it would start selling the beer on draft, which since 1996 had only been available in in bottles or in its iconic gold-on-white cans.

There has been a lot of talk about beer in The Sun recently - news of bar openings, microbreweries setting up shop, even an article about how the owner of National Bohemian helped bring the Orioles to town ("Beer, baseball and Baltimore," May 16). But what about National Bohemian, that iconic hometown beer whose mascot dots our city's skyline and which sells for less than $3 a bottle, or on draft now, throughout this city? This locally-loved beer hasn't been brewed locally in years, and yet we continue to celebrate it as if it were still produced on Brewers Hill.