WINE, CRAFT BEER & DISTILLING Our Mug Runneth Over Tap into a booming craft brewing scene with suds for all seasons. W BY BRENNEN JENSEN With more than 50 craft breweries producing everything from traditional Baltimore pilsners and Belgian-style farm ales to dessert stouts and cask-conditioned classics, beer lovers will be hard pressed not to find a new foamy favorite in Maryland. Most breweries offer tours and tasting rooms. Watch beer being made and then savor it, fresh as can be. Only-in-Maryland Brews Antietam Brewery in Hagerstown brings together innovative beers and locally sourced food at its popular brewpub. Crabs and beer are a classic Maryland combo and Frederick’s Flying Dog Brewery, the state’s largest beer maker, uniquely unites them with their Dead Rise Ale. This summer seasonal, one of some two-dozen offerings, is named for a type of crabbing boat and is flavored with Old Bay crab spice. Baltimore’s Union Craft Brewing, meanwhile, named its award-winning flagship beer, the deftly hopped Duckpin Pale Ale, after a homegrown form of bowling. Heavy Seas, another brewer earning accolades Burely Oak Brewing, Berlin nationally, produces a line of nautically named beers in Halethorpe and its roots go Suds for Sailors, Summer back 20 years to Baltimore’s first brewpub. and Sustainability The brewery is also a proponent of cask ale, Annapolis is home to Chesapeake Brewing the old-school way of dispensing naturally and the U.S. Naval Academy, which goes carbonated beers by gravity or hand pump. a long way in explaining the brewpub’s Beat Army Golden Lager with its playful nod to a storied football rivalry. Calvert Brewing in Prince Frederick offers an al fresco experience in a pet-friendly beer garden. Thirsty after a day at the beach? Ocean City Brewing Company can help you out in its namesake town or in its new Abingdon restaurant. Or head to nearby Berlin where Burley Oak Brewing also makes root beer and occasionally features live bands along with their brews. While on the Eastern Shore, visit RAR Brewing in Cambridge where the brews often have a Belgian accent. And have you heard of the field-to-mug movement? Milkhouse Brewery in Mt. Airy, Manor Hill Brewing in Ellicott City, and Falling Branch Brewery in Street are among nine designated “farm breweries” where beers are brewed with grain, hops or both, grown onsite. ✥ The Brewers Association has more information on Maryland craft beer at marylandbeer.org. Flying Dog Brewery Frederick 22 ✥ VISITMARYLAND.ORG | 1-877-333-4455 PHOTO: FLYING DOG BREWERY
Maryland Official Visitors Guide 2017: Page 22
