BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

During February ’05, I made a clean sweep of Baltimore’s brewpubs. Though CAPITOL CITY BREWING opened at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor around ‘98, the inaugural brewery in Washington D.C. has been operating since ’92. Two Virginia operations now exist also, but this site closed in ‘07. Located on the second floor of Light Street Pavilion, the Baltimore brewpubs’ glass entrance opened to ‘50s styled ambiance where bright red booths lead to a centralized bar area with copper kettles fronting the cooking area. Above, bright red overhead beams and a catwalk matched the scheme. Outside dining overlooked Inner Harbor and a billiard table adorned the back area.

While tasting plump Babe Ruth Burger, I quaffed dry wheat-husked fizzy-hopped lemongrass-y Capitol Kolsch, Scotch-licked caramel-buttered Amber Waves Ale, red-fruited floral-hopped mocha-hinted Extra Special Bitter, friskily fruit-hopped butterscotch-tinged whiskey-dabbed Duncan’s Scottish Ale, and chocolate-y coffee-roasted cola-hazelnut-hinted Prohibition Porter. Some of these brews are still available at Washington DC’s Capitol City Brewpub. Brewery Defunct: 2010.