If you find yourself at one of the many beer bars in the city, the local beers to try include:
I understand that a new micro just opened around May/June 1997,
located on Eastern Avenue,
near Brimstone. I have not visited the brewery nor tasted their beers yet,
so more details will have to wait til I get a chance to sniff
around and find the beer.
Lately it's been getting hard to find Oxford, which is really a shame since the beer is much better than that of some of the newer breweries, and it's really quite consistent and generally clean.
Beers:
Brewery tours Saturday and Sunday, 12:00 to 4pm. Call in advance to schedule.
New brewery started by Hugh Sisson (well known in the area from Sissons brewpub in Federal Hill). Tom Flores, formerly of Wild Goose, is working the brew kettle. Clipper City opened in December 1995; they're offering a light lager and a pale ale. Several specialty beers are also available or in the works. The beer is served on tap at several bars around Baltimore and is available in bottles at liquor stores throughout the Baltimore and Washington areas.
The brewery is a 50-barrel Pub Brewing brewhouse with four 100-barrel fermenters. This gives the brewery a capacity of about 12,000 barrels per year. The brewery is located in an industrial area, about 1/4 mile from the Heileman (Black Label/Colt 45) beer factory. Weekend tours are available and are a lot of fun. The brewery has a very nice tap room where you will be welcomed with a glass of Clipper City beer. Check out their web page, or call for tour details.
Currently available beers include a pale ale and a premium lager. The lager has a clean malty flavor with a fairly light body. The beer is, however, probably too light and uninteresting for most microbrew fans. The pale ale is more interesting. It's got a deep amber color with a complex maltiness. Some toasty flavors come through as does some caramel. The hops are fairly assertive in this beer and balance it nicely. Looks like the base is Schreier pale malt with De-Wolf Cosyns specialty malts (lots of sacks of biscuit and caramel on the loading dock).
Their honey wheat is a very light beer with just a touch of soft honey flavor. I believe this is only available in the summer. Recently tried their maibock, which was quite good but a little less malty and a bit lighter in body than I really like in a maibock.
Beers:
Jump to Clipper City's
web page
Wild Goose is a large Peter Austin brewery located on Maryland's Eastern Shore, about a block off U.S. Route 50. The brewery enjoys a large, loyal following throughout the region, although it is known among some beer critics for traditional yeast-produced flavors such as esters and diacetyl. Their amber is well-hopped, their porter quite smooth, their IPA a bit under-hopped for the style. Wild Goose also brews a light ale called Thomas Point Light, a light pale ale called Samuel Middelton's Ale, and they contract-brew the bottled version of Oliver's Ale for the Wharf Rat.
One of Wild Goose's best offerings is Snow Goose, which is a nice malty beer usually sold in late fall and the winter months. Wild Goose ales are widely available throughout the city. They've recently been doing well with a Porter that is chocolatey and smooth. In the spring 1996, they came out with an oatmeal stout that is very creamy and full bodied. Other seasonal beers appear from time to time. The tour is fun and informative, and if you're on your way to Ocean City, it's a quick diversion (only a block off route 50).
Beers:
Read Dave Brockington's Review of Wild Goose Amber Ale
Read Dave Brockington's Review of Snow Goose
Read Dave Brockington's Review of Samuel Middleton Pale Ale
Read Dave Brockington's Review of Wild Goose Spring Wheat
Frederick Brewing (usually known as "Blue Ridge") recently opened a new, much expanded brewery on the outskirts of Frederick.
Frederick Brewing produces mostly ales, but they have a nice, sweet, malty amber lager. New for 1997 is their "Hempen Ale", a wacky novelty brew made with hemp seeds. Also new in 1997 is a light sourmash beer called "Sun Rage". I found this beer to be quite interesting for a light poundable brew: the sourness was slight, but unmistakable, lending a delicate tartness and a bit of zip to the brew---quite a nice summertime beer. The porter is probably their best regular brew, chocolately and robust. They also brew an ESB that is quite nice, though a bit heavier than you might expect for the style. Steeple Stout, first brewed in spring 1995, with about 10% rye in the grain bill, is a very nice, smooth, sweet stout. I understand that it is now part of the brewery's regular repertoire. The brewery also makes an excellent dopplebock called "Subliminator" that is a real treat, and each fall, they brew a beer called "Hop Fest" that features one hop variety---it's always richly hopped and quite delicious. Hop Fest has been picked as a readers' favorite in BarleyCorn readers polls (BarleyCorn is the mid-Atlantic's regional brewspaper).
A great way to spend a summer weekend is to combine a visit to Frederick Brewing Company with a minor league baseball game with the Frederick Keys (A, Carolina League, Baltimore Orioles affiliate). The good beer is at the very end of the concourse---at least on the 1st base side. Someday I'll venture over to the 3rd base side and see if there's a good beer stand there too. Unfortunately, the selection has become more limited lately...sigh.
Beers:
Jump to Frederick Brewing's
web page
Read Dave Brockington's Review of Blue Ridge Porter
Read Dave Brockington's Review of Blue Ridge Amber
Map to
Frederick Brewing Company
Brimstone's most interesting beer is their stone beer, made by dropping 1,000 degree rocks into the brew kettle. This beer is more heavily hopped than the Rauchenfels Steinbier that some beer afficianados might be familiar with, and it's brewed using American hops. Some of Brimstone's other beers include their raspberry porter and their honey wheat. Each year Brimstone brews a barleywine called "Big Strong Ale". The 1996 batch was brewed to an original gravity of over 1.100 and was warm fermented in the open fermenter. The resulting beer is very complex with some vinous character and fruity plum-like flavors.
The beers are usually made using a single-step infusion mash. The grist is mostly Great Western 2-row pale malt. The honey wheat is brewed using tupelo honey. Their wheat grist is a mix of pale malt and Munich with about 15% malted wheat. Their blueberry wheat uses 400 pounds of blueberry puree per 30 barrel fermenter, added to the secondary (this works out to just under 1/2 pound of fruit per gallon).
Brimstone beers do not seem to be as widely available in the city as some of the other local microbrews, but they are worth seeking out for their distinctive emphasis on specialty beer styles. You can find most of their offerings at Max's on Broadway. Foster's in Fells Point often has some of their beers, John Steven Ltd. has the honey red, and P.J.'s Pub in Charles Village sometimes has one beer on. Racer's Cafe, Last Chance Saloon, and Max's On Broadway are the most reliable outlets.
Beers:
Photo of the
Brewhouse at Brimstone Brewing Company (239 KB)
Map to
Brimstone Brewing Company
Did I overlook your favorite
place? Tell me about it...
Mark Stevens,
stevens@burp.org,
7/1/97
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