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,

See photos

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.       

 

 

 

EASTERN SHORE BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

Eastern Shore Brewing | Craft Spirits | Casual Dining | Entertainment - St. Michaels Maryland Business Association, MD

ST. MICHAELS, MARYLAND

Moving next door to its original small garage space to a red barn-doored, gable-roofed millhouse, EASTERN SHORE BREWING celebrated its 17th anniversary upon my second trip to romantic St. Michaels. Its old wood floor and plank wood topped bar provide splendid rusticity and sundry small tables and community tables get squeezed closely.

Tightening up its beer lineup with a rounded selection of fine elixirs, I discovered five previously untried brews upon my Friday eve January ’24 stopover.

Dry moderate-bodied flagship, Back Creek Blonde, let spritzy lemon musk soak up mild Columbus/ Chinook-hopped pining and wispy beechwood sear above crackery white wheat base.

Another current year-rounder, Situation Critical IPA, brought ‘copious’ West Coast-styled hops (Cascade, Citra, Centennial, Columbus) to the fore as lemony grapefruit, orange and pineapple tanginess gained subtle floral pining and tart dried currant nip.

An Orange Crush cocktail with bold 10% ABV, Summer Crush let its tangy orange-tangerine sugaring receive icy lemon-limed vodka briskness as well as latent grapefruit rind bittering.

Milkshake-styled New England IPA, Strawberry Shakedown, graced its bittersweet strawberry puree tartness with lactose-sugared oated wheat creaming.

A pleasant dessert-like nightcap, Midnight Eclipse Milk Stout contrasted its milk-sugared coffee creaming and mild maple molasses syruping with dark chocolate bittering.

Image result for eastern shore breewing

ORIGINAL 2009 ARTICLE

Imagine, if you will, a small backstreet Key West brewhouse relocated on Chesapeake Bay’s inner harbor. Upon entering the heart of St. Michaels, a romantic retreat with antique shops, quaint eateries, and Old World charm, resides EASTERN SHORE BREWING, a tiny microbrew opened in ’09.

Along with delicious oysters, quaffed four pleasingly blue collar brews during April ’09 Food & Wine Festival. Head brewer Adrian Moritz and assistant Kurt Longenecker served tap versions of honey-soured, banana-clove-bubblegum-sweetened, lemon seed-embittered, grassy-hopped Magic Hefeweizen, mild lemony orange-embittered, Scotch-honeyed Lighthause Ale, molasses-spiced caramel-malted orange-soured astringency St. Michaels Amber Ale (a year round staple) and drier barnyard-wafted Cascade-hopped grapefruit-embittered wood-toned rye-dabbed Knot So Pale Ale. Bottled versions are better reviewed in Beer Index.

www.easternshorebrewing.com

Within walking distance, Ava’s Pizza had delicious homestyle pizzas, such as Onion Tart, and 100 quality microbrews on tap or in bottle.

CROOKED MOUTH BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

Crooked Mouth Brewery - From $10 - Endicott, NY | Groupon

ENDICOTT, NEW YORK

Endicott’s CROOKED MOUTH BREWING resides at a former ice cream parlor with a newly green-painted exterior brick walled frontage matching its aluminum roof. Owned by former garage brewing partners Josh Olson and Sean Campbell, native Endicott residents, the cafe-like nanobrewery concocts well-balanced traditional beer styles.

Crooked Mouth’s rustic aluminum-sided, bark topped, ten-seat bar features eight stainless steel silver draught taps at the white-gray tiled back wall. Wood-metal tables and three centralized TV’s fill out the cement-floored pub. Black ceiling tiles adds a stark dramatic contrast. A back kitchen serves gourmet sandwiches and fine pub fare.

During my Sunday afternoon trip, early December ’23, while Crooked Mouth celebrated its one-year anniversary, drank all four flagships. Then, slid down the gullet a West Coast IPA, fruited sour and porter. New York ciders and wines were also available.

Clean-watered Kviek yeast gave Casper The Friendly Cream Ale its soothingly creamed smoothness as light lemon-soured green grapes esters and mild herbal musk met honeyed millet-grained corn sugaring.

Easygoing Cousin Kevin Pale Ale gathered tangy tangerine, lightly spiced orange and sugary pale malts alongside grassy hop astringency.

Effervescently soft-tongued Herbert Session IPA contrasted peachy orange tanginess against lightly embittered pineapple zesting and dry pine bark over slim pale malt stipend.

Another flagship offering, Moon Juice NEIPA, let sugary oats sweeten its juicy grapefruit, orange, peach and pineapple tanginess and terse floral spiced respite.

A candy-fruited glaze stuck to West Coast IPA, Equinox, countering sticky piney herbage with mild orange-pineapple-mango spicing.      

Lactose-aided fruited sour, Bermuda Triangle, reached exalted Pina Colada status as toasted coconut and lemon-sugared pineapple tanginess combined to pick up a salty tequila-tinged twist.

Then came a rich autumnal pumpkin-spiced dark ale. Dry-honeyed Bakers chocolate seeped inside pumpkin-pureed cinnamon bark, gingery nutmeg seasoning and caramel-burnt vanilla sugaring of Harvest Moon Porter, picking up roasted chestnut and acorn snips.  

MAGNIFY CASH OR CREDIT BOURBON BARREL AGED BARLEYWINE

Beers A-Z,

On tap at Taphouse 15, ‘magnificent’ Heaven Hill bourbon-seeped barleywine regales lovely whiskeyed cherry, cognac, Grand Marnier and brandy warmth. Engaging bourbon vanilla sweetness deepens caramel-candied toffee confection as brown-sugared fig-date spate, glazed pecan-chestnut-hazelnut conflux and bruised orange ripeness reach sturdy biscuity Maris Otter malt base. Recommended!

Cash Or Credit - Magnify Brewing Company - Untappd