Category Archives: United States Brewpubs

HYSTERIA BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Image result for HYSTERIA BREWEING

PASEDENA, MARYLAND

Though rumored to be shutting its doors as of my pleasant early Febraury ’24 visit, HYSTERIA BREWING COMPANY is located next to Lost Art Distillery in a red brick warehouse at the Baltimore suburb of Pasedena, Maryland. A green Hysteria insignia leads patrons to the spacious taphouse.

Resembling a cozy living room with its parlor booths, book shelving and table games, Hysteria re-creates English-style cafe culture. The cement-floored, black-and-gray-walled interior features an L-shaped 10-seat bar with four-seaters and community tables. Exposed pipes and the silver brew tanks add to the rustic atmosphere.

A white-tiled draught board offers only three house beers on my half-hour sojourn, but they’re all fine.

Floral perfume-spiced yellow and orange fruiting stayed semi-sharp for Falling In Love Again India Pale Lager, picking up light herbage over sugared pale malts.

Espresso nuttiness and dark-roast coffee anchored The Morning After Coffee Stout, a milk-creamed lactose-induced full body.

Dark chocolate-y light roast coffee and oats-sugared maple molasses enriched lovely Old Mill Oatmeal Stout, leaving fudged brownie remnants.

CHECKERSPOT BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Checkerspot Brewing Co. opens new South Baltimore building - Baltimore Business Journal

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Beginning operations September 1, 2019 at the Pigtown site now occupied by M8, CHECKERSPOT BREWING COMPANY moved westward down the street to an eye-catching black cinder-blocked warehouse with yellow butterfly trim and white company lettering.

Entrepreneurial brewing spouses Rob and Judy Neff renovated their new Checkerspot digs in 2023 at a former industrial printing plant they now own. Its community-tabled first floor includes a wood lacquer-topped 20-seat bar with 20-plus driftwood draught handles and two TV’s. The lounge-chaired balcony area contains a few pinball games. A subaquatic theme runs thru the wall art and windowed tanks contain the copious liquid suds on hand.

Adding a kitchen for worthy pub fare to complement the mostly ‘lighter malt-forward beers’ as well as ‘hop-lover’ ales and non-alcoholic selections, Checkerspot’s grown to be one of Baltimore’s most successful brewpub ventures.

My wife and I settled in on a Friday at noon, February ’24, to try a traditional British ale and honeyed kolsch. We left with about a dozen canned brews reviewed in Beer Index.

Conventional English pub ale, Average Joe, suited the everyday light-bodied pilsner-lager fan with its mossy brown tea-like dewiness, dry pale ale malting and cocoa-dried wattleseed nuttiness given a dainty lemon spritz.

Raw-honeyed buckwheat saddled Bird Is The Word, snatching a honey-wined mead theme teased by oniony chive, butternut squash and pecan illusions over buttermilk breading.

MONUMENT CITY BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Occupying a historically olden red brick warehouse with ancient wood columns, rustic farmhouse roof and cement floors, Baltimore’s MONUMENT CITY BREWING COMPANY is perched in the Brewers Hill neighborhood about one-half mile from Mobtown Brewing.

Beginning their journey in 2014 by contract brewing at Peabody Heights Brewing, co-owning brothers Ken and Matt Praay got their own spot during April 2017. A 15-seat oak wood bar with 16 Douglas Fir-branched tap handles gets surrounded by a few wood tables.

Monument City’s beers run the gamut from topnotch traditional fare to versatile pilsner-lagers, diverse IPA’s and newly crafted barrel-aged elixirs.

My wife and I took a seat at the bar on a seasonally warm Friday afternoon in February ’24 when the place was packed. We tried six beers onsite and took home a bunch to review thereafter.

Off-dry straw-cleared Czech-styled Penchant Pils let lightly spiced lemon licks reach musky maize starching, fresh-cut hay astringency and earthen Noble hop herbage.

Standard German-styled moderation, Haus Lager, relegated musty orange-red fruiting and delicate floral-spiced herbage for its dry pilsner malt base.

Conventional helles lager, Hand Hewn, plied dry lemony floral spicing and mild herbage to cracker-like pilsner malting.

Spruce-tipped West Coast IPA, Among The Pines, stayed dry (utilizing Simcoe-Amarillo hops) as zesty lemon, tangy pineapple and sweet navel orange spread across resinous pine above spiced pale malts.

Zesty double dry-hopped New England IPA, NOBO, regaled yellow grapefruit bittering, pineapple tanginess, orange peel sweetness and peachy mango sedation plus mild vodka boozing above oated wheat creaming.

On the dark side, dry Imperial Stout, Woodstove, combined dark chocolate, light-roast coffee and espresso with spicy toffee sugaring, picking up latent black cherry, sugarplum and dried apricot illusions.

MOBTOWN BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Just south of Monument City in Charm City’s Brewers Hill district, MOBTOWN BREWING COMPANY resides at a massive red brick warehouse previously housing Westinghouse Electric Company. Oddly, the first brewery in Brewers Hill in 41 years since Gunther and National Brewing occupied this space beginning in the late 19th century, Mobtown opened during 2019.

Co-owning brewer Noah Chadwick, an environmental scientist, used upcycled materials, such as the tin roof corrugated siding at the concrete-topped 30-seat L-shaped bar, gym-floored wood plank tables and railroad track footrests. The aquamarine walls feature beautifully painted sea designs.

Twelve tap handles serve an IPA-heavy lineup with a few lagers and a few interestingly stylistic blends. A side TV entertains sports lovers. Brewtanks are stationed towards the right. There are five outdoor community tables as well.

My wife and I visited Mobtown mid-afternoon on a Friday in February ’24.

Mandarina Bavaria hops lent gentle citrus tartness to the sweet rice adjunct of Neon Dynasty Rice Lager, leaving a mild hay parch on the sake backend.

Sourdough breading sweetened Vienna lager, Natty Dough, letting biscuity Maris Otter malting and mild pale chocolate malting coalesce alongside delicate chestnut-pecan whims as floral Noble hop herbage ascended slowly.

Subdued dark lager, Dangerous Nights, dropped roasted chocolate onto slightly nutty Maris Otter caramelization and a black licorice snip.

Fruity tropical lager, It’s Always Sunny In Sarasota, put Nelson Sauvin-hopped passionfruit, guava and papaya tartness plus navel orange zesting above musky barnyard graining.

Juicy New England IPA-like tropicalia enlarged Foundry Hazy Pale Ale, contrasting brisk orange-peeled mango and peach tanginess with a bitter limey grapefruit stipend all the way to its pasty oated wheat bottom.

“Classic” West Coast IPA, Coast Starlight, let pale malt sugaring embrace lemon-candied grapefruit and orange tanginess as well as honeyed floral sweetness to counter its earthen piney hop prickle.

Mobtown’s “house NEIPA,” dry-hopped The Doctor Says I’m Hazy, plied dense tropical fruiting to caramelized pale malts, gathering taut orange peel sweetness, pineapple zesting, peach tanginess and mango-papaya-cantaloupe conflux.

Mouth-puckering ruby reddish Flanders Red Ale, The Background, aged in French oak pinot Noir barrels, soaked dry white wining into oaken cherry tannins and dry lemon acidity.

Blending a candi-sugared fig and plum-daubed Quadrupel with a honey fruited IPA, Time Rocket, placed peachy pineapple tanginess and buttery Chardonnay wining across dangling dried fruiting, cellared fungi herbage and dank pine resin.

Another worthy blend, barrel-aged Imperial Stout, Cuvee It, invited milk-sugared coffee, cappuccino and bourbon chocolate to dry ‘cuvee-like’ Brut champagning in a complex Good Morning Breakfast Stout mix with sherry-casked Shake Your Coconuts and Sagamore Spirit rye whiskey-aged Heavy Boots Pastry Stout.

PICKETT BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Pickett Brewing Company Opening This Summer in Pigtown

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

As of February ’24, the latest Pigtown brewery, PICKETT BREWING COMPANY, opened August ’22. Within a stone’s throw from the Ravens football stadium next to a corner jazz bar in one of Baltimore’s commercial residential neighborhoods just south of the Inner Harbor, this glorified pub shows off exquisite furnished antiquity and specializes in spectral India Pale Ales as well as pilsner-lagers.

Pickett’s overhead-doored gray brick frontage leads to the cozily decorated community-tabled interior. There’s a 20-seat bar (with silver metal menu) opposed by a cushion-chaired lounge where a large TV hangs and a few barreled tables fill out the cosmetically upscale warehouse. Inconspicuous mezzanine tanks near the back serve head brewer Jason Howard’s crisp suds for the noontime crowd. Cool artwork’s spread across the walls.

Simple golden cleared light lager, Just Beer, cushioned its peppery lemon spritz with musky mineral grained barleycorn.

Celebrating dulcet bluegrass music, Bluegrass Sunday Pils, a lightly yellow hazed moderation, weaved desiccated navel orange musk thru corny malt liquored whiskey tones and lightly perfumed hop spicing.

Tropical fruited hazy pale ale Squatchin’ trickled dainty orange-peeled grapefruit tanginess and peachy pineapple zesting into mild oated wheat creaming.

Juicily sugar fruited LFG, a hazy New England IPA, let pink and yellow grapefruit tanginess, sweet orange peel zesting and subtle melon licks embrace floral-perfumed spicing, picking up waxy crayon nuances above a creamily frothed oated wheat base.

Smoothly buoyant Imperial IPA, Giraffe Staff, let effervescent orange, pineapple , grapefruit and pineapple zesting join peachy lemon meringue tartness (as well as a glassy vodka whim) brush up against resinous pine needling.

Another hazy Imperial IPA, Take A Zero, spread dry tropical fruiting all around as tart passionfruit-guava conflux, lime-salted pineapple zing, lemon meringue piquancy and candied lollipop dollop reached its mildly pine lacquered grassy oats stead.

Plush oatmeal stout, Double Goats In Hats, soaked dark chocolate nuttiness in dry bourbon-burgundy wining and black cherry jam as its dark-roast hop sear lightly embittered the molasses-smoked mocha finish.

Curious canned collaboration with nearby Mobtown Brewing, Wistful Thinking Coffee Saison, had herbal saison yeast musk sopping up spritzy lemon souring and light green peppering, keeping strangely understated creamy coffee influence at bay.

DIAMONDBACK BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Three miles from Orioles Park in Charm City’s Mc Henry Row at the Banner building, DIAMONDBACK BREWING COMPANY began operations in autumn 2016. Founded by three University of Maryland dorm brewers, Diamondback’s spacious 7,000 square-foot facility is part of a former Coca-Cola plant.

Located inside a red brick warehouse, the neo-Mod Industrial interior features a rustic cement floor with wood-fronted, cement-topped round bar wrapping around a huge red brick smokestack smack dab in the middle of the low-ceilinged pub. An overhead door leads to a makeshift patio for outdoor seating. Pizza and light pub fare fill out the menu.

My wife and I settled into a few bar seats to try all seven available brews on a Sunday eve, January ’24.

‘Lightly smoked doppelbock,’ Flocculator, brought dewy dried fruiting to musty caramelized malting and Noble hop earthiness.

Creamier than expected, Czech dark lager, Bohemian Forest, placed dry Bakers chocolate next to pumpernickel-toasted dark chocolate malting, caramel coffee caress and truffled Saaz hop dryness.

Soft gold-cleared citrus wheat ale, Voss Boss, utilized clean Nordic Kveik yeast to set up its brisk lemony grapefruit bittering and zesty orange peeled tangerine sweetness, leaving light floral spicing on its mild pine salting.

Diamondback’s approachable ‘house IPA,’ Green Machine, pushed lemony grapefruit and orange tanginess past the resinous pine contrasting its oated wheat base.

Smoothly clean Citra/Mosaic-hopped  ‘cold IPA,’ Coldstream, plied sweet orange tanginess, yellow grapefruit bittering and passionfruit tartness to lightly vanilla-creamed oats and kiln-malted mineral graining.

Luxurious bourbon-aged Imperial Stout, Moon Boots, let bourbon vanilla sweetness seep into creamy brown chocolate spicing, Black Forest caking and molasses-candied nuttiness for a perfect nightcap.

 

WICO STREET BEER CO.

United States Brewpubs,

Wico Street Beer Co. Now Open in Pigtown

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Alongside Checkerspot, M8, Diamondback and Pickett, WICO STREET BREWING CO. is another upstart brewery in close proximity to the Baltimore stadiums. Opened November ’22 in the Industrial red brick section of Pigtown at the vintage Wicomino building, Wico Street’s cement-floored, high ceilinged, 4,200 square-foot pub features spiffy cartooned wall paintings, pinball games and a 10-seat L-shaped bar alongside several round tables and a few wooden benches near the right side tanks.

Experienced brewmaster, Jordan Mc Graw, spent time at nearby Columbia’s Hysteria and Baltimore’s Pratt Street Alehouse and DuClaw after learning the art of brewing at Myrtle Beach’s Liberty Tap Room. Creating a diverse array of stylish brews, Mc Graw (along with his partnered cousin, Mike Richardson) will craft more sour ale variations in the future.

In January ’24, my wife and I toured M8, Diamondback and, in between, Wico Street on a snowy Sunday afternoon.

Labeled ‘yellow fizzy beer,’ Steel American Lager, plied sweet corn and rice to musky Galena hop herbage with a mild whiskey back.

Dewy Extra Special Bitter-like mossing met herbal Hallertau/Tettnanger hops and caramelized Vienna-malted chocolate whims for sessionable helles lager, Hella Steez.

Dry New England pale ale, The Price Is Always Right, let lemony orange-peeled grapefruit tanginess pickup mild guava souring and resinous pine sliver over mild caramel malting.

Sunny lemony grapefruit-sugared orange peel sweetness and peachy pineapple tanginess led pillowy soft-toned Yeah Dude Kinda Hazy IPA, leaving slight herbal pining on the lightly creamed oated wheat spine.

Chameleonic fruited sour ale, But Different, sunk milk sugared white chocolate into tart lemon liming, white peachy grapefruit tanginess, salted guava-lychee spree, redcurrant tartness and strawberry rhubarb licks.

Unique oak foeder-aged Gabriel The Younger, a conditioned Vienna lager, plugged oak-toasted rye and whiskey tones plus wildflower honeyed botanicals into red wined vanilla tannins.

Honey-roasted oats flaking contrasted smoky Blackstrap molasses-embittered dark-roast cocoa beaning for ashen hop-charred Imperial Stout, Game Over, leaving sticky anise remnant.

Interesting 12.5% ABV nightcap, Fatality: Blend 4, got soaked in rye, whiskey and herbal-spiced fernet barrels, retaining luxurious bourbon vanilla sweetness, creamy brown chocolate goodness, caramelized whiskey tones and coffee beaned espresso bittering.

M8 BEER

United States Brewpubs,

M8 BEER - 1399 S Sharp St, Baltimore, Maryland - Breweries - Yelp

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Concentrating on ‘easy to drink’ fare with an exotic Down Under twist, Australian-bred brewer Jeff Osborne opened M8 BEER during September  ’23 at the former Checkerspot location. Within walking distance to the football-baseball stadiums, M8’s mod-designed gray corrugated facility includes a huge sportsbar-like first floor pub, spacious upstairs party room and small sidewalk seating area. Its black and orange signage salutes the local Orioles baseball team.

M8’s cement-floored, black ceilinged main pub space surrounds its left side ten-seat bar with front wood tables and tall black chaired seating. There are several strewn TV’s and a large windowed backspace brewing area. Texas-Aussie BBQ’s on the grill, mates.

My wife and I settle at the lacquer wood top bar on a snowy Sunday at noon in January ’24 to enjoy all eight current brews on draught.

Sunny lemon zesting contrasted sour maize porridging and earthen grain musk of Czech M8 Pilsner, a simply effective Czech-styled bohemian lightweight.

Understated Brumbly Blonde pranced ‘floral lime’ brining, spritzy lemon zest, white grape esters and spiced agave whims atop its blanched white bread base.

Sweet tea-leafed tobacco roast beckoned for dewy Extra Special Bitter, Southern Cross, picking up raw-honeyed vanilla tannins and dried orange tartness.

Dry Extra Pale Ale, Whitsunday XPA, plied lemony cilantro piquancy and dewy ESB-like caraway-wattleseed nuttiness to peaty rye stead, scattering earthen wood tones.

Stylish banana-clove sweetness gained salty herbal lemon twang for sourdough-lined Hammerhead Hefeweizen.

Utilizing New Zealand hops, straightforward hazy IPA, Slim Dusty, placed lemony grapefruit sugaring, sweet orange peel zesting and tart blood orange musk alongside mild herbal spicing and light piney bittering.

Ultra dry Aussie hopped pale ale, Fraser Island Pacific Ale, led its musky tropical fruiting thru wood-parched juniper bittering as floral-spiced grapefruit, pineapple, orange and tangerine coalition remained steadfast.

Bustling coffee-roasted dark chocolate entry and tarry molasses bittering contrasted the maple oats sugaring backing dry Irish stout, Magpie, leaving mossy wood charred residue.

OLIVER BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

OLIVER BREWING COMPANY - 27 Photos & 15 Reviews - 4216 Shannon Dr, Baltimore, Maryland - Breweries - Phone Number - Yelp

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Located at the industrial end of Baltimore’s northerly Clifton Park, OLIVER BREWING COMPANY is an extension of the former Pratt Street Alehouse (specializing in authentic British ales beforehand as Wharf Rat since 1993). Long-time entrepreneurial owner Justin Dvorkin also runs nearby Columbia’s Ale House and Severna’s Park Tavern.

An abstract orange design on the 12,000 square-foot white bricked warehouse pub guides imbibers to Oliver’s cement-floored tasting room. A small 10-stooled wood-based serving station serves nine draughts and surrounding refrigerators provide to-go cans. The high ceilinged production area stages mammoth brew tanks and vessels. A grassy fenced area with wooden benches adds outside seating.

Concentrating more on production brewing than mere brewpub ambience, the rustic hangout is currently (as of 2024) only open to the public on Saturdays.

My wife and I dropped by mid-January ’24 to quaff all eight Oliver-twisted draughts available. I was especially impressed with both nitrogenated dark ales and bourbon whiskey-aged stouts.

Mild Social Pale Lager contrasted honeyed pale malting with dried maize acridity and grassy hop astringency.

Musky dried fruiting spread across nut-caked sweet breading for soft-toned moderation, Chesapeake Bay Dopplebock, relegating fig, raisin and date subtleties.

Lemony grapefruit, pineapple and orange spritzing and peachy tangerine tanginess graced sunshiny Imperial IPA, BMore Hazy, leaving mild floral sweetness to fend wispily pined herbage pungency in its wake. 

Tantalizing New England IPA, Astral Life, let zesty lemon-peeled orange peel bittering and polite grapefruit-soured guava-mango saltiness settle atop frothy oated wheat creaming.

Hot cocoa-inspired nitrogenated Cuffing Season, a dandy cream stout brewed with chocolate, marshmallow and vanilla, gained dry espresso, sweet cappuccino and glazed hazelnut illusions.

The smoothly creamed nitro version of BMore Breakfast Stout plied creamy vanilla-daubed brown chocolate to honeyed Graham Cracker, S’mores candy and sugared coffee pleasantries.

“Festive” Barrel-Aged Gingerbread Latte, a bourbon vanilla-sweetened Imperial Stout, let its gingerbread adjunct soak up wintry cinnamon, anise, allspice and nutmeg seasoning.

If possible, even better Liquid Luxury, an Imperial Stout aged 15 years in whiskey barrels, regaled its brown-sugared bourbon vanilla splendor with whiskeyed brown chocolate sweetness and oaken bark-dried leathering over molasses rye breading.

FORWARD BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

Packed on a Saturday afternoon mid-January ’24, Annapolis-based FORWARD BREWING resides at the historic ‘rebellious’ Eastport neighborhood and began operations in the summer of ’20. Becoming the first nanobrewery in Annapolis, Forward marches on at its rustic white brick general store-like pub.

A white granite topped serving station delivers the liquid goods from twelve tap handles and the windowed brew tanks are staged in the back. Forward’s clean white-walled interior features cement-floored block wood tables with plastic stools and several decorative barrels.

There’s also a fire-pitted side deck with black pendant Edison lights and a covered front porch as well. An open air kitchen serves snacks, sandwiches, wings and desserts.

Former Black Flag head brewer Warren Hendrickson mans the 7-barrel system and canning lines. My wife and I swallow five rounded beers on our one-hour sojourn before heading to Charm City.

Herbal honeyed banana and clove entry picked up lemon-candied respite for Alpengeist, a Solero-hopped hefeweizen.

Sweet nectarine surged thru peachy pineapple and mango tang and dainty floral spicing to contrast piney bittering of Nectaris, a New England IPA with mildly creamed oated wheat base.

Sweet potato pureed pumpkin pie spicing and molasses-sugared cinnamon toasting gave starchy lactose autumnal treat, This American Pie, its savory yam-gourd resolve.

Buckwheat-honeyed chestnut, pecan and hazelnut gathered for Happy Buzz Honey Brown, leaving minor hop astringency upon its oily mocha perfuming.

Dry buckwheat honeyed molasses oats draped the coffee-burnt dark chocolate bittering and mild toffee sweetness consuming Dark Arts Oatmeal Stout.

TEN EYCK BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Beer Drinkers Find Community at Ten Eyck Brewing Company | Edible Delmarva

QUEENSTOWN, MARYLAND

On a dank overcast Saturday at noon in mid-January ’24, visited Eastern Shore’s tiny town of Queenstown to grab some beers at TEN EYCK BREWING COMPANY. A female-driven veteran owned pub translated in Dutch as “at the oak,” Ten Eyck opened in the summer of 2019. A tight community of craftswomen whose recipes run the gamut from light lagers to pastry sours, each brings a certain specialty to the entire brewing project.

Its right side brown paneled section serves as the main pub while the aluminum topped high-ceilinged warehouse holds the large windowed brew tanks and an overhead door leads to the backyard sail cloth-covered pergula biergarten.

The red brick-fronted, stained concrete-floored taproom recalls an upscale cabin with its bracketed exposed pipes, nautical light fixtures and slab wood designed back wall. The bark-topped rectangular bar has twelve taps and several TV’s and wood tabled chairs fill out the warm interior.

My wife and I settled in to try a dozen varied elixirs. Many retained a softly ensconced minerality.

Dry aluminum-cleared lightweight, Taco Cat Mexican Lager, spread corn-floured flaked maize atop salty citric neutrality and phenol hop astringency.

Fermented in oak, ‘delicate’ bronze-hued moderation, Chesapeake Lager, placed salty orange spicing and dry straw-grained rusticity inside a fizzy capsule.

“Extremely quaffable” Shorebilly Kolsch allowed mild IPA-like orange peeled grapefruit bittering to penetrate musky Noble-hopped herbage and candied lemondrop tartness over saltine crackered pilsner base.

Lemony banana-clove-bubblegum frontage let mild herbage spread into A Great Day For Hay, a less sourdough breaded hefeweizen.

Zesty lemon, candy-coated orange and pomelo-tangelo snips sidled the mild evergreen conclave of (410) Maryland Cold IPA, a crisply tropical Citra/Strata-hopped sunshine daydream.

Rummy pineapple-coconut Pina Colada sweetness countered lemon-limed Margarita brining placated tart fruited sour, Beach Juice Pina Colada, a highly acidic eye squinter.

An interestingly offbeat hybrid, Side Dish Imperial Brown Ale, brewed with roasted sweet potato given maple-glazed vanilla sweetness, embraced marshmallow-creamed sugaring and mounting Aunt Jemima syruping on the nose (plus black cherry, hazelnut and chestnut wisps).

The nutty coffee-stained dark chocolate entry of dry Tuckahoe Stout received molasses-sapped flaked oats backup.

Fermented with cardamom, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon to contrast its pink Himalayan salted black peppercorn seasoning, dry-spiced Marrakash Imperial Coffee Stout zoomed forth with a loud mocha boom of dark-roast coffee and dark cocoa powdering.

Smoothly sweet fruited stout, CAKE: Chocolate Razz, plies brown chocolate sweetness to tart raspberry adjunct, picking up tertiary blackberry, boysenberry and mulberry illusions.

A spiced variant, CAKE: Cin City, reached cinnamon coffee territory, acquiring delicate star anise and blackcurrant licks.

Another approachably smooth-watered dark ale, Heaven Sent, a sublime Imperial Stout aged in Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels, gained vanilla-honeyed caramel sweetness, tidy cola-walnut-hazelnut conflux and black cherry snips.

 

4 DOGS BREWING CO. & PUB

United States Brewpubs,

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EASTON, MARYLAND

Amongst the upscale boutique shops and galleries crowding Maryland’s Eastern Shore in the small seaside town of Easton, 4 DOGS BREWING CO. & PUB came to fruition during July ’23. Headed by four Haddonfield, New Jersey natives looking to start a chummy microbrewery, 4 Dogs quickly earned local respect with its conventionally spot-on beers.

Inside a freestanding red brick building at Marlboro Plaza, the sportsbar-related brewpub features a lacquer wood topped octagon-shaped bar with corrugated aluminum siding and a few windowed tables strewn across the concrete floor. There are multiple TV’s for enthusiastic sports fans alongside good pub fare, desserts, sodas and coffee. And a multi-chaired outdoor deck adds further seating.

My wife and I visited 4 Dogs on a Friday evening, January ’24, indulging in three IPA’s, a witbier, amber ale, lager and stout.

Dry grained moderation, St. Beernard Lager, let mild hop astringency face off against roasted barley crisping.

Cereal grained caramel malting contrasted mild citrus pining for Labradorchester, an amiable amber ale.

Stylish orange-peeled coriander spicing paced Sittin’ on the Dachshund of the Bay, a winning witbier with white wheated sourdough breading anchoring its ancillary banana-plantain snips and wafting herbal whims.

Briskly dry NEIPA, Hop Tank, plied sunny lemon zesting, orange peel sweetness, candied pineapple tanginess and lightly embittered yellow grapefruit to mildly creamed oated wheat.

Lemon-sugared grapefruit and orange tanginess met salted guava and mango tropicalia for oated wheat-creamed Hair O’ The Dog, a zestful 8% ABV hazy Imperial IPA.

Dry West Coast-styled IPA, Easton Terrier, buttressed its bittersweet orange-peeled grapefruit tang, white peach sweetness and resinous pining with mildly creamed crystal malting.

Smoothly creamed Last But Not Leashed, a bold oatmeal stout, gathered black coffee, espresso and dark chocolate above its milk-sugared molasses oats base.