BEER WITH A SOCIALIST: Baltimore is so into beer that it boasts its own Beer Legends Hall of Fame.

My friends and I took several beer hunting trips to Baltimore two decades ago. If memory serves, the first was in 1996, and the most recent in 2002. 16 years is a long time away, and it's hard to imagine replicating the giddy thrill of finding an IPA (!) by Wild Goose in a BWI departure terminal lounge.

The only constant is change, but there'll be wonderful beers aplenty, more than I could possibly have time to drink -- and our lodging is a block away from the legendary Max's Taphouse on Broadway in Fell's Point.

Baltimore has always been a first-rate beer town, and to prove it, there's even a Beer Legends Hall of Fame.

The Baltimore Beer Legends Hall of Fame is dedicated to annually inducting individuals, institutions and icons based on outstanding innovation, achievement, influence and their contribution to the beer industry and culture in Baltimore and the surrounding Chesapeake region. The Baltimore Beer Legends Hall of Fame mission is to recognize and honor the history, iconic individuals, and institutions both past and present, who by their singular influence, innovation, achievement, and/or contribution, and by the example of their lives, personify the significant impact that beer has made to our way of life in the “Land of Pleasant Living”.

Too bad we'll be a month early for Baltimore Beer Week, 2018.

In 2009, a dedicated group embarked on a mission to create a vehicle that would allow us all to “Celebrate All Things Beer in the Land of Pleasant Living”. Through the last 10 years, over 3000 individual events have been held by over 1200 various sponsors throughout the region and nationally. Awareness for the sheer beauty of craft beer has risen dramatically and countless tens of thousands of beer lovers across Maryland and beyond have attended our breweries, pubs, restaurants, museums, sporting events, concerts and festivals. Local media has taken keen interest as well and shared Baltimore Beer Week with their many listeners and viewers.

The organizing committee both past and present sincerely wish all of you a HUGE THANKS for putting Baltimore on the map as one of America’s great beer towns. Our roots run deep, our history tells incredible stories and our industry folks have overcome some insurmountable odds to become what we are today. In this spirit and as we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Baltimore Beer Week, we ask you to “Embrace All Things Beer in the Land of Pleasant Living.”

Sounds like a good time, indeed.