Baltimore Washington Beer Works The Raven Special Lager

I always find interesting the ways that cities like Baltimore or New York try to draw an affinity to the famous works of Edgar Allan Poe.  There is a portion of West 84th Street in Manhattan named for him, since the farmhouse where he wrote part of The Raven used to be near there.  Mind you, nothing from that era still stands on the Upper West Side but the neighborhood felt obliged to pay honor in some way.   Baltimore has more of a reason to embrace the true father of the macabre, especially with beer.  The Peabody Heights Brewery has three co-op beer brands that get bottled and distributed from their facility on East 30th Street in Baltimore, including The Raven line. Who knows if Poe stumbled by there during his mysterious night that led to his death in the streets in Oct, 1849.   In 2012 The Raven beer line was founded using classic European brewing traditions and the mysteries of Edgar Allen Poe to develop their brand and flavors. Is there any better way to start a craft beer line?  Their Raven Special lager is a southern Germany style lager with a nice golden finish.   Recommend to go with most food, but a slight affinity to spicy fare.  Personally, I'm not a huge fan of lagers, but this one I felt performed very well.  It had a clean finish and definitely could be a favorite session beer for all seasons.  The Fab Four ales in the Raven series are The Raven Special Lager, Pendulum Pils, Tell Tale Heart IPA, and The Cask.   There's a teaser on their web site that they plan to add a 5th ale to the series, an Annabel Lee White.

5.25% ABV

7 out of 10 Baltimore Ravens

http://www.ravenbeer.com/default.asp?iId=GGHMML