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    Charm City Burger Company

    This is not like most other of my beer bar reviews.  Mostly because this isn’t your typical beer bar.  It is a burger joint first and foremost that just happens to have some nice beers to choose from.

    When I say that the place is tiny, I’m not kidding.  The posted maximum capacity is 70 but I have a hard time believing that.  There is bar up front where you order your food and beer from and get a number for you order.  The kitchen will call out your number when you order is ready.  This leads me to one of my few problems with the place.  It is very hard to hear the kitchen calling out the numbers.  This is even more difficult when music is playing and there are a lot of customers in there talking.  A speaker system would be a huge improvement but hell even a megaphone would serve it’s purpose in a cheaper manner.

    But once you get your food you are in fat kid heaven.  Their burgers are nice and juicy with inventive ideas for toppings.  Couple this with their hand cut french fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings or tater tots and you have yourself some comfort food if I’ve ever seen some.  They also have a number of special burgers with different types of meats and usually have daily specials.

    And if you don’t feel you have fill up enough yet they have hand scooped milkshakes with Blue Bell ice cream.  Yup, the good stuff.  And don’t expect just your normal vanilla, chocolate and strawberry shake either.  They make some off the wall flavors that you never thought you would see in a shake that they rotate in their order.  How about churro, glazed donut and loganberry just to throw a few names out there.

    Finish things off with some deep friend Oreos or Twinkies in ice cream and you may not wake up for a few days.

    Oh yeah and then there is the beer, kind what you are all here about.  They have a pretty respectable bottle selection that is ever changing and growing.  You will find a lot of your craft beer staples like Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Rogue Dead Guy, Stone Arrogant Bastard and Dale’s Pale Ale.  They also have a number of other beers from such great breweries as Avery, Flying Dog, Southern Tier, Shipyard and Victory.  After speaking with the owner last night, he is still learning about beer but definitely wants to try to find all the right selections for their menu.  It’s great to see a small little place really want to put an emphasis on craft beer.

    So yeah I know I wrote more about the food than the beer here but I am a huge fan of food as well as beer and this place has both of those.  And the food is really, really good.  I think my fellow beer lovers Phil, Kelly, Joel, Tony and Vanessa who all went with me will agree.

    Charm City Burger Company
    1136 E. Hillsboro Blvd.
    Deerfield Beach, FL 33441
    954-531-0300
    http://www.charmcityburgers.com/

    Win a Free Ticket to Total Wine’s Next Beer Class

    In celebration of my 2nd Anniversary of the blog, Ed Roberts and the wonderful people at Total Wine have provided me with 5 free tickets to their next beer class to give out as I wish.  What I have decided to do is to have a free raffle for these at my 2nd Anniversary Party.  Here are the details on the class.

    What’s Not on Tap: Uncommon, Extraordinary Beer Styles You Must Try
    Thursday June 24, 2010
    6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

    Total Wine and More – Boynton Beach
    850 North Congress Ave.
    Boynton Beach, FL 33426

    Planned Beers (as available)
    Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier
    Baltika #9
    Dogfish Head Midas Touch
    Duchess de Bourgogne
    Dupont Saison Dupont
    Fraoch Heather Ale
    Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning
    Lagunitas Sirius
    Left Hand Good Juju
    Terrapin Rye Pale Ale
    Victory Wild Devil
    Weihenstephaner Kristall Weissbier

    Remember that this event is open to the public as well for a mere $15.  You will receive a full lesson on each individual from an beer expert.  Educational materials about the entire course are provided as well.

    So be sure to get a raffle ticket when you come to the party for your chance to win.  As if you didn’t need any more incentive to come out to the festivities.

    Big Red

    Name – Big Red
    Country – United States
    Type – American Red Ale

    Appearance – Pours a very clear reddish/amber color with a nice big white head that leaves some lacing on the glass.

    Smell – Strong caramel malt smell along with a resiny and citrus like hop presence.

    Taste – Very well balanced with your citrus hops and caramel like malts.

    I’ll be honest that I was hoping for more of a hop bomb on this one but was very happy with the way that it really was.  It’s very well balanced with the sweetness of the malts and the citrus and bitterness of the hops.  A very good red ale in my opinion.

    Overall Grade – B+