OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND

Originally operating inside Hooper’s Crab House, FIN CITY BREWING COMPANY moved within walking distance to West Ocean Beach’s Westside Square Plaza, May 2024. Crafting a decent variety of mostly straightforward small-batch fare, the small taproom celebrates Ocean City’s fishing heritage while faring well as a local sportsbar.

A blue-tiled oak top bar (with ten stools and twelve draughts) captures the eye with its simple elegance. Small wood tables, cornered TV’s, exposed pipes and aluminum-ceilinged hanging lights furnish the barroom. A rear nano setup contains the liquid suds. I grabbed a pint o’ pilsner and a mug of stout on my three-day Ocean City venture.

I took home several Fin City canned brews (reviewed in Beer Index) before heading out at nightfall on a Friday in late February ’26.

Honeyed cereal grain sweetness welcomed delicate German pilsner, Pure Lure, letting sugar cookie and lemon cookie confections reach lightly spiced hop pep.

Semi-rich dessert stout, German Chocolate Cake, placed confectionery coconut-pecan frosting inside brown-sugared dark chocolate fudging, picking up black cherry nuances.