United Nations of Beer

Mahaffey's Pub

by Dominic Perry
(Beer Delegate, MD, USA)

What makes a great neighborhood bar? Is it the friendly people? The great atmosphere? That one old man who seems to have been drinking for three hours when you get there even though the bar just opened?

Whatever it is, Mahaffey's Pub in Canton has it. The bar is located a little off the beaten path in a corner row home in Baltimore. The owner, Wayne, bought the place in 2000 and still runs it. You'll notice him walking around the place (in his own bar T-shirt) and occasionally bartending, mainly just drinking though.

There are many things that make the place great and the beer selection is just one. Sure you can get Miller Lite on tap, but the "piss water" style beers end there. Wayne has gone out of his way to stock his bar with nothing but the best.

Mahaffey's features 17 taps that change on a two-week schedule. What that means to you is the beer is always fresh and you get to sample something new every other week. At any given time you can find a trappist, an IPA, a lager, a brown ale and a stout on tap. Not bad for a bar that only attracts the locals.

If you can't find anything on tap, have no fear, this place has a 40+ list of bottles. I can't guarantee that they're all fresh, but there's any style you can think of.

To accent the great beers, Mahaffey's Pub also servers some cheap eats. It's not the greatest food (they cook it on a flap top behind the bar), but it is tasty. Special mention must be made of the rosemary garlic fries. These things are a must have.

Happy hours are your norm except on Monday. On this special night they serve $1 mini burgers and chickens. Add to this 3 10oz "pints" for only $4 and, for just $12, you can enter a chicken-and-cow-flavored alcoholic heaven.

During the summer, Wayne has convinced Baltimore to let him throw a two-day block party called "Waynestock". The bar is open at 10, with live music, pit beef and games.

How the place has stayed a locals-only bar is a great mystery. All these little things add up to make Mahaffey's Pub a mandatory stop in any adventure through Baltimore.