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.