ELLICOTT CITY, MARYLAND

Located at Ellicott City’s St. John’s Plaza mall on bustling Route 40 since 1996, I visited BARE BONES during two-day January 2011 jaunt to Baltimore vicinity. (Note: A second Bare Bones facility is in Stuart, Florida.)

Not necessarily a brewpub, since brewing operations ceased when tanks were removed circa 2008, but a clean blue-collar sportbar specializing in ribs and reasonably priced pub fare (if not diversified beers and ales).

Perched west of Baltimore City, its wood entry…

Slick molasses-malted caramel toasting, disruptive metallic astringency, and acetous iodine driblet thankfully outdone by streamlined chocolate-cocoa spicing. Subsidiary tobacco-roasted gingerbread, pecan pie, dehydrated fig, raisin, almond, butternut and hazelnut illusions penetrate dry rye breading. As bottle drains, ample mocha prominence dissuades blunt alkaline acridity of wildly variable, thickheaded, coppery bronzed, medium-bodied dark lager.

Don’t obsess over herbal-spiced peculiarities such as green peppercorn bittering and black-peppered rosemary-thyme-alfalfa seasoning enhancing well-integrated golden-hazed tripel since sweet Clover honey malting overrides every extraneous eccentricity. Mild lemon rind souring, hemp-oiled raspberry vinaigrette tartness and floral zucchini-flowered hibiscus-lotus-jasmine reminder reach zenith at fruitful ginger-snapped mango-peach-pineapple-nectarine midst. Tertiary banana liqueur, brandy wine, and lemon meringue illusions further sweeten busy elixir. Just as advertised, “an ale of mythic proportions” (bottled at Sly Fox Brewery’s Royersford facility.)

After The Prodigy helped manufacture post-Nirvana rave culture for Britain’s underground masses, a swarm of inventive laptop musicians sprung up and found fame in England, hoisting Fatboy Slim and Chemical Brothers atop the next ‘big beat generation.’ Then Daft Punk absorbed these influences and gave a metallic sheen to the heavy groove line, ushering in the new millennium for hotshot modern beat-masters like LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip, and the more rock-oriented Pendulum.

Leaving Perth, Australia’s early drum and bass alliance…

Refreshingly straightforward moderate body brings crisp-watered hop-spiced citric intrigue and affable crystal-caramel malting to buttered baguette base. Initial grapefruit peel bittering tails off to misty red apple, peach, and pear sweetness. Unquestionably a fine middle-of-the-road session beer that holds its own against better known fare.

Traditional English pub ale made from “the stripped down second runnings” of Jersey brewery’s excellent Wee Heavy maintains apropos moderate body. Faint orange compote waft emanates from coppery liquid, followed by mild earthen fungi tongue and milder peat-smoked pale-crystal malting. Root vegetable notes line soft Columbus hop bittering.

Scoffing traditional Belgian-styled candi-sugaring for ‘golden sessionable’ witbier (minus the wheat) perfect for sunny day lunchtime boat cruise alongside light dishes such as sautéed whitefish and freshly barbecued scallops. Grassy-hopped white-peppered herbal spicing lingers through rye-malted burnt orange, banana bread, and extracted vanilla illusions given a teasing ethanol burn.

Robust Scotch-styled winter solstice celebration with robust black chocolate urgency and coarse resinous hop roasting brings expectant mesquite-smoked Scotch malting and dewy peat graining to surging fig-dried date-sugared cocoa sweetness. Its backend alcohol burn reinforces sullen whiskey musk, subsidiary stone fruiting, and tertiary dried tobacco roast.

Dependable mahogany-hued chocolate stout maintains soft tone despite sharp roasted hop char and pungent espresso-coffee leanings. A milder alternative, its rich brown-sugared black chocolate opening gets reinforced by oatmeal raisin cookie illusions, gooey anise sapping, and cherry puree undertones contrasting oily tar-like molasses bittering.

Well balanced medium-bodied English-styled brown ale with bold mocha surge. Stove-burnt coffee and dark-spiced brown chocolate sidle coarse peanut-shelled cola-macadamia-hazelnut sharpness and roasted pecan-walnut-tobacco conflux above mild hop char bittering. Cocoa nibs, vanilla bean, black cherry, and soy milk underscore sweet oats-toasted caramel-toffee malting. A tad arid, though that’s nitpicking.

Ersatz Long Island brown ale needs richer nutty mocha penetration and deeper roasted hop bittering. Faded burnt coffee entry receives harsh cola-walnut prickle above black chocolate malting. Modest dark floral passage, unusual for this styling, mired by residual plasticine clay intimation.

On tap, admirable 15^th anniversary celebration (circa 2011) does Baltimore proud. Woody dry-hopped red-orange-yellow-fruited full body contrasts candied sugar malting against mildly resinous piney hop bittering and dark floral tinge. Ripe pineapple, grapefruit, apple, mango, peach, orange, and tangerine fruiting absorbs harsh grain-alcohol turpentine immersion.