York Peppermint Patty knockoff under the guise of a lactic dry Irish stout lets its bittersweet Tahitian vanilla bean luster settle alongside green-minted dark chocolate candied sugaring – picking up latent cola, hazelnut and anise illusions, distant maple oats flaking and nifty Brownies confection against mild charred hop bittering. A wonderful chocolate mint dessert pastry liquified.
On tap at Hoover’s Tavern, engaging sour-candied pomegranate, passionfruit and plum puree lead the way for likable fruited moderation. Candied Pez-like powdering gains ancillary Granny Smith apple tartness, salted cranberry pucker, sweet grenadine licks and limey acidity to its red wheat malt bottom.
On tap at Hoover’s Tavern, lactic breakfast sour drapes dark maple syrup over strawberry pureed vanilla beaning and cinnamon-swirled French Toast sweetness contrasting curdled yogurt milking and lemon-soured gourd sway.
On tap at Curley’s Corner, sweetly creamed bourbon vanilla-glazed dark chocolate syruping drapes brown-sugared dried fruiting and mild oak-charred hop bittering. Massive molasses-sapped mocha surge allows cocoa nibs, ground coffee, toasted coconut, anise and pecan illusions to surface.
Richly creamed chocolate peanut butter porter gets infused with espresso beans. Dark-roast coffee tones pick up smoky cocoa, black chocolate and vanilla hints while hazelnut, macadamia and cola nuttiness reinforce peanut-buttered hop oiling above soily earthiness. By the finish, its milky espresso sentiment clears the way.
Effectual Imperial version of brewers’ popular Sweet Baby Jesus retains uppity hop-oiled peanut butter creaming. Chewy peanut buttering retains dark-roasted heft. Bittersweet dark chocolate fudging, polite coffee roast and Blackstrap molasses guard rich peanut butter conspiracy.
Though its bittersweet strawberry adjunct gets buried beneath the syrupy black chocolate milking, creamy caramel-burnt dark cocoa subsidy and tertiary coffee roast, rich sweet stout never fails to arouse tastebuds as a fine dessert treat. Milk Dud-like midst picks up modest vanilla, molasses and nutty nougat nuances to champion its mighty mocha mass above mild hop-charred bittering.
Large maple-sugared blueberry contingent sweetens above Cascade-hopped Meyer lemon tang, pale wheat malting and clover-honeyed Graham Cracker spine. Lacquered blueberry syruping thickens over time.
DU CLAW – BEL AIR
Situated inside a red-bricked, green-trimmed mall center, DU CLAW BREWING COMPANY’S inaugural Bel Air pub opened 1996. Locations in Bowie, Hanover, and BWI Airport’s Southwest Terminal came into prominence post-millennium and continue to flourish. As for my three-hour January 2011 Bel Air fling, I examined the efficient soft-hopped alacrity of ten tangibly diverse brews, meeting Du Claw’s owner, Dave Benfield, while enjoying a few untried libations alongside some previously reviewed fare.
The high ceiling interior, centered by a huge wraparound bar, included front and side dining areas with multiple TV’s (and a billiards table to far right). An enclosed front patio near the front entrance suits sunny day feasting. The clean Industrial setting draws sports fans, businessmen, and party people. A separate dining area to the left satisfies families with children and the char-broiled burgers are damn tasty.
Newly discovered gems included peculiar fish-oiled hop-frisked Exile Belgian Pale Ale, with its mild orange-dried date souring receiving latent honey glaze. Red-orange-fruited perfume-wafted nicety, Old Flame Old Ale, enjoined fig-dried crystal-caramel malting to tingly hop spicing. Buttery smooth Serum Double IPA snubbed brisk stylistic bitterness for sugar-spiced peach-apricot-grapefruit tang and pine-combed maple malting.
Chocolate lovers will unite over two wonderful dessert treats. Euphoria Toffee Nut Brown Ale worked toffee sweetness into rye-malted chocolate-browned almond-pecan cluster coupling vanilla, cocoa nibs, crème brulee, and coffee ice cream illusions above astringent hop bitterness.
Better still, velvety smooth Black Jack Imperial Stout drenched brown-sugared oatmeal cookie theme with macadamia-hazelnut pleasantries, Blackstrap molasses sapping, black chocolate richness, espresso milking, crème brulee sweetness, and raspberry-blackberry souring.
While previously tendered Venom Pale Ale retained aggressive orange-peeled grapefruit-skinned bark-dried bittering, its supplemental nitro version maintained soft-watered caramel-malted creaminess and delicate spicing for mild grapefruit-juiced Mandarin orange prod.
Misfit Red Amber Ale upped the caramel roasting and Bad Moon Porter increased the stove-burnt coffee-roasted creaminess and dark chocolate malting from initial Fells Point sampling. And best selling Bare Ass Blonde Ale developed a lemon-soured floral peach briskness and peppery hop tingle since inceptive ’05 offering.
The following tasting notes were from initial ’05 visit of defunct Fells Point brewery:
Du Claw’s well-detailed brews showed tremendous diversity. Lightweights will adore citric-sweet cereal-grained Bare Ass Blonde Ale, caramelized barley-roasted apple-persimmon-spiced Misfit Red, tangy soft-fruited Ravenwood Kolsch Ale, and blanched Australian-hopped stone-fruited golden lightweight Kangaroo Love Lager.
Ripe quince-peach-melon tang, spiced Bosc pear sugaring and tart lemon-hopped bittering braced Venom Pale Ale.
Robust dessert treat, Bad Moon Porter, weaved roasted coffee and toasted hops around addictive Godiva dark chocolate sweetness.
More sophisticated tastes will lean towards expressive coffee-toned Naked Fish Chocolate Raspberry Stout (sporting a raspberry seed-ripened mocha-sweet hazelnut-walnut confluence). These are only some of the more than dozen selections available at any given time.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
Foreword: I initially visited Du Claws’ former Fells Point site, which was closed in 2008 due to a dispute between owner and landlord. However, four great Du Claw pubs remain. The original Bel Air pub was visited January 2010 (see seperate review). Other worthwhile Maryland locations are in Bowie, Hanover, and BWI airport.
Formerly on a quaint cobblestone road in the Fells Point area, DU CLAW was located inside the bottom floor of a five-story harbor building, visited on February ’05 Baltimore area jaunt. Its oak frontage and large glass windows framed a modern Industrial designed interior countering an Old World neighborhood. A small patio section to the left side existed. Spacious high-ceiling interior features oval central bar with four widescreen TV’s, metal stools at wood tables, and four green-seated booths.
Du Claw’s well-detailed brews showed tremendous diversity. Lightweights will adore citric-sweet cereal-grained Bare Ass Blonde Ale, caramelized barley-roasted apple-persimmon-spiced Misfit Red, tangy soft-fruited Ravenwood Kolsch Ale and blanched Australian-hopped stone-fruited golden lightweight Kangaroo Love Lager.
More sophisticated tastes will lean towards expressive coffee-toned Naked Fish Chocolate Raspberry Stout (sporting a raspberry seed-ripened mocha-sweet hazelnut-walnut confluence), as well as tangy quince-peach-pear-melon-ripened lemon-hopped Venom Pale Ale.
Robust dessert treat, Bad Moon Porter, weaved roasted coffee and toasted hops around addictive Godiva dark chocolate sweetness.
These are only some of the more than dozen selections available at any given time. Though this Bond Street Wharf site opened July ’04, Du Claw’s original brewpub remains in nearby Belair.