All posts by John Fortunato

BURLEY OAK BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

87 – Burley Oak Brewing Company in Berlin, MD | Brews Travelers 365   

BERLIN, MARYLAND

Just eight miles west of Ocean City in a former cooperage, Berlin’s BURLEY OAK BREWING COMPANY opened late 2011 to much local fanfare. Entrepreneurial brewer Bryan Brushmiller and ‘head beer-ologist’ Zach Newton surely know their craft, splendidly delivering stylistically robust ales as well as atypical hybrids to the craving public.

After hanging out at the beach for three hours, my wife and I venture to this gray-shingled prefab barnyard for a few pops during 3rd annual Bikes At The Beach weekend, April 2013.

A front glass window with Burley Oak lettering and stenciled oak tree insignia welcomes patrons to the blue-walled interior, where a large U-shaped oak bar with 20 stools and several oak barreled tables are situated. Through the windowed glass behind the bar lies rustic silver brew tanks. On the left side TV, the Washington Nationals are playing ball while I begin sampling the goods.

Perfect as a mild opener, well-named Just The Tip Kolsch brought lemon-seeded blood orange, mandarin orange, tangerine and orange rot to soft floral hops. Then came a host of diligently prepared Belgian style brews.

Belgian yeast from a Trappist monastery gave Dirty Blonde Ale a peppery herbal notion to go alongside sweet crystal-malted banana fruiting. The same yeast provided a candi-sugared sweetness to viscous nickel-hued Brunette Belgian Dark Ale, where mild plum, raisin, prune and plantain dried fruiting beat a path to its chocolate-y coal-hazelnut finish.

Citra-hopped Honey Comb Belgian Golden Ale brought white-peppered lemony orange-grapefruit spicing to sweet honey comb sugaring.

Next came the India Pale Ale selections, starting with Pale Ryeder Rye Double IPA, a fruitful brown-sugared medium body with pumpernickel-toasted caraway seeding overriding grapefruit and orange rind bittering as well as ancillary peach, apple and pear illusions. Darker fruited MOB Barley Black IPA loaded piney citric Simcoe hops atop bittersweet dark chocolate and black coffee.

Another rewarding choice, crisp-watered Barreled Brown Ale clustered maple-sapped praline, pecan and almond alongside toffee sugaring.

Engaging dark-roasted chocolate malting guided Bunker C Robust Porter, settling above hop-charred ashen nuttiness, cocoa-powdered vanilla-cappuccino conflux and floral-dried bourbon-burgundy-raisin snip.  

As for the barrel aged offering, Lower Class Barleywine (matured in Jack Daniels whiskey) carried cedar-chipped maple sugaring and oaken bourbon illusions to a spicy rum-buttered whiskey soothe.

Down the street one mile west of Burley Oak lies Cheers, a fine liquor store with great independent beers from far and wide.

www.burleyoak.com

MAX’S TAPHOUSE

BEER PUB

Maryland: Max's Taphouse, Fells Point, Baltimore – A Good Beer Blog   Best Bars: Max's Taphouse - Drink Baltimore - The Best Happy Hours

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

On the corner of South Broadway in the Fells Point section, MAX’S TAPHOUSE earns the right to be labeled Baltimore’s Best Beer Bar. Boasting 140 rotating drafts, 5 hand-pumped cask stations, 18 TV’s, private rooms and a billiard table, this cozy Irish-styled pub specializes in hard-to-find one-off European beers, respected American micro and nano brews, plus an incredible bottled selection. An elongated wood bar to the right of the entrance gets packed quickly by enthusiastic craft beer imbibers.

On a Friday night in late April ’13, my wife and I grab one of the wooden community tables to quaff a few previously untried offerings. Loud classic rock (Electric Light Orchestra’s “Evil Woman” and Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet”) blasts from the speakers as a large contingent of post-collegiate weekend warriors tip some cocktails while enjoying typical pub food.

For our 2-hour sojourn, I enjoy three different stouts in Charm City’s highly touted watering hole. But first, I grab Full Tilt Baltimore Pale Ale, a local flagship beer offering mild IPA-like pine-needled orange peel bittering to floral grapefruit, apple, peach and pear illusions above a caramel-toasted barleymalt base.

Representing Hawaii, Maui Aloha Baktun Belgian Stout was the least interesting of the stouts, getting a tad musty despite its nutty dark-roasted chocolate opening, bittersweet coffee bean salience, mild espresso dalliance  and sugary Belgian yeast influence. Better was Missouri-based Boulevard Coffee Ale, a distinct strong ale blending heavenly Ethiopian Sidamo coffee with dark-grain roasted barleymalts and oats-dried rye breading.

For dessert, Iceland’s remarkable Olvisholt Lava Smoked Stout proved to be uniquely balanced, plying peat-smoked German rauchbier grit to dark chocolate, roasted coffee and fudgy molasses illusions. (Full reviews are in Beer Index).

A friendly neighborhood saloon glorified by its long-time rep as a superior craft beer fortress, Max’s admirably preserves Baltimore’s historic boutique-bound maritime post.

www.maxs.com

 

FRISCO TAP & BREWHOUSE (PUSH BREWERY)

BEER PUB

   American Push Brewing Company at Frisco Taphouse

COLUMBIA, MARYLAND

In the light industrial section of Columbia (blocks from Pub Dog Pizza & Drafthouse and ten miles south of Baltimore), FRISCO TAP & BREWHOUSE rules the roost with its awesome fifty rotating taps, four on-site homemade beers by PUSH AMERICAN BREWING and amazing pub fare. 

A pristine sportsbar atmosphere, conducive to a cocktail lounge, makes Frisco a fine choice for any high-minded beer-drinkin’ jock. At the prominent U-shaped oak bar (where eight TV’s and a blackboard beer list are located) my wife and I grab stools for a lunchtime visit, April ’13.

Along the tan and maroon walls of the high ceiling interior are several canvassed banners representing top-notch craft brewers such as Stone, Troegs, Lagunitas and Southern Tier. Local offerings by Dogfish Head, DuClaw, Evolution, Flying Dog, Old Dominion and Union Craft crowd the current tapped selection while many more fine chocies are available on both tap and in refrigerated bottles.

Before getting to the appealing house beers, we’re struck by the solid food menu. Manhattan Clam Chowder, goat-cheesed Arugula Salad and olive-oiled Hummus (with pine nuts and parsley) are outstanding. Pizza, sandwiches, burritos, fajitas and meat-fish entrees all look appetizing.

As for Push American Brewing, although their beers get hidden beside the fertile selection of local, national and international fare, each one deserves a chance. Weirdly beige-hazed Push 72 & Sunny Spring Wheat brought dry champagne grapes, lemon-candied spritz and clove-coriander spicing to a lime-salted white wheat finish (recalling a German Berliner Weiss).

Sessionable Push Gate Drop Pale Ale layered citric rind bittering atop herbal perfumed hops. A bit bitterer,  Push Hebrew Knievel Red I2PA brightened its red and pink grapefruit juicing with spiced peach-pear-apple illusions.

Before completing my meal, I get a pint of Push/ Heavy Seas collaboration, Thick As Thieves Porter. Its roasted dark chocolate entry and soy-milked coffee bittering allowed ancillary cola nut, toffee, molasses, vanilla, blackberry and cookie dough illusions to prosper.       

www.friscogrille.com

FIN CITY BREWERY (HOOPER’S CRAB HOUSE)

United States Brewpubs,

OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND

Situated just over the bridge from Ocean City on Route 50, FIN CITY BREWERY has been housed in Hooper’s Crab House (a spacious barn-styled seafood haven) since 2012. A freestanding edifice with gray weatherboards, fire engine red roof and giant red crab insignia, my wife and I sojourned this mammoth restaurant-brewery during the 3rd Annual Bikers On The Beach weekend, April ’13.

Entering from a wood-planked deck, we ate dinner at the raised section to the right of the bar. In the middle dining area, several cool antiques appear, including a single propeller aeroplane, chopper motorcycle, Dale Earnhardt’s one-time practice car and scattered nautical ephemera. Ancient copper tanks on the balcony level stored brewer Vince Wright’s sessionable suds.

As our drunken mussels, steamed clams, cream of crab soup and moon rings (fried mozzarella with onion rings) got served, I dug into Fin Light, an easygoing dry-bodied pale ale with grassy Saaz hops tingling buttered popcorn, baked bread and maize illusions.

Next up, polite Sneaky Wheat brought mild orange peel bittering to subtle banana-clove-coriander nuances and carameilzed white wheat breading.

As the sun sets on the bay, I quaffed stylistically robust Jackspot Amber, a sharp Fuggle-hopped orange-spiced medium body with caramel-roasted malts and biscuit-y baguette backdrop.

www.hooperscrabhouse.com