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 receive lightly spiced hop pep in dry corny rice setting.

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