In another addition to the ever-evolving Power Plant Live, the Leinenkugel Beer Garden officially opens today.

The 2,500-square-foot steel and glass pavilion offers more than 30 draft beers, 30 bottles, and a food menu. On tap, there's obviously Leinenkugel selections, but they've also made an effort to keep it local with Flying Dog and Heavy Seas available. The bottle list is impressive, with everything from Fat Tire to Abita to Weyerbacher brews. 

The garden also offers self-serve draft tables, where customers can pick the flavors (or even mix them) and serve themselves. Additionally, the food menu will feature a custom-made pizza by new Power Plant neighbor Joe Squared.

The grand opening kicks off tonight with a sampling from 4-9 p.m. hosted by Jacob Leinenkugel of the Leinenkugel Brewing Company. They also have various events over the next couple months, including "beer games," Oktoberfest, and a homebrew compeition. Check out their calendar here.

[Image: courtesy of Leinenkugel Beer Garden]

This weekend I got a chance to check out Dark Horse Saloon in Canton, which opened in late June in the old Canton Arts & Entertainment space.

Marc McFaul, owner of The Stalking Horse and Ropewalk Tavern in Federal Hill (who we named one of the most powerful people in nightlife), opened Dark Horse and the adjacent Irish pub Finnegan's Wake in the massive Boston Street space. I'd been wanting to check it out for a while, as I always see long lines outside the bars on weekend nights.

I got a chance to on Friday night when I attended a friend's going away party at Dark Horse. The space inside is immense, which is nice for downtown bar go-ers who are used to the narrow layout of rowhouse bars. There was a pool table, areas for dining and mingling, and a huge wooden bar taking up most of the front room.

On the drink menu was Stalking Horse's signature vodka slushies, with flavors like Red Bull, raven, and hurricane (a popular choice last weekend). They also had about eight beers on tap (including Shock Top, Yuengling, Magic Hat #9, and Bud Light), but nothing too remarkable. They were running a good special that night—after 9 p.m., Bud and Bud Light bottles were $2 and slushies were $2.50.

But, the whole feel of the place was pretty generic. I guess there was a cowboy theme—a huge mural of Clint Eastwood from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly was on the wall and there were signature horse statues throughout—but there was no distinct style besides that. The service was fair, but not friendly. The place was packed with out-of-town Yankees fans. 

In short, and not suprisingly, it's like a Federal Hill bar has been plopped onto Boston Street, not that the crowds (who comes in hordes) seem to mind. 

[Image: courtesy of Dark Horse Saloon]

It's been a long time coming, but popular Colorado-based brew Fat Tire is finally arriving in Maryland. This Monday, August 22, bottles of New Belgium Brewery's Fat Tire will be stocked at Loading Dock Liquors in Canton. On August 25, the liquor store will host a tasting to celebrate its arrival. 

New Belgium is the third largest craft brewery in the United States with a huge presence in the west that's starting to trickle its way over to our part of the country. I had my first Fat Tire Amber Ale in Seattle, pictured, and was impressed with its crisp, caramel-like flavor. The beer also has a really pretty golden hue. 

In addition to the Amber Ale, Loading Dock will also receive New Belgium's seasonal Hoptober. When I asked the store's cashier if they had received any requests already, he laughed and said, "Yup. They started about two years ago."

[Image: courtesy of Daniel Mayhugh]

This past Saturday, some friends and I celebrated a bachelorette party on the Urban Pirates "Bring Your Own Grog" cruise in Fells Point. Since 2008, Urban Pirates has been launching daytime family cruises and nighttime adult cruises on their 52-foot custom built pirate ship, "Fearless."

While the family cruises are certainly popular, we opted for the nighttime version, where 25 ticket-holders can board the ship with any alcoholic beverage they'd like (cans and coolers are encouraged, though). Once on the ship, an animated group of pirate performers makes the experience a lot of fun—with costumes, an entertaining soundtrack, water cannons, and various games along the way. 

The entire cruise takes about an hour, as the ship leaves from Ann Street pier, sails along Tide Point, Locust Point, Federal Hill, and the Inner Harbor (shooting tourists with water cannons was, admittedly, a highlight). Then the ship turns back around. From a local standpoint, the cruise was a really unique way to see Baltimore, from the waterview. Plus, the whole experience was a blast and a great way to get ready for the bars in Fells Point.

Urban Pirates runs four nightly trips every Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $25 and many of the cruises book up early (ours did about a week in advance). This would be a great way to show out-of-towners the city, or also just have a fun night out with friends—but be sure you all like Captain Morgan rum!

[Image: courtesy of flickr.com/photos/bogray]