Clipper City Beer

I spent the last couple of days in Baltimore covering the National Pork Board’s Taste of Elegance chef competition, and while I am very full of swine (pork belly, jowl, cheek, etc.) as well as soft and hard-shell crabs (post to come on Wednesday), I also indulged in a local brew called Clipper City. I was first drawn to the label of Clipper City Gold Ale, with a font that might as well be called “peg leg” and cool ship motif. Named for a ship historically built in Baltimore’s home port, I cracked open a Clipper and discovered a totally drinkable ale, with a slight hoppy taste and subtle fruity notes, like a cross between Bass and Sam Adams Summer Ale. An ice cold one would go great with said seafood or a spicy pork belly dish. Now I am in a mission to find it in Chicago, any tips? Oh, and when you log onto their site it tells you to “embrace your inner pyrate,” and later to grab one of their “extrAARGHdinary beers,” which only feeds into my pirate-imitating obsessions and makes me love this brew even more.