Stylishly bold ruby copper-hued amber lager loads caramel-toasted cereal graining upon spicy red-orange fruiting, honeyed nuttiness and leafy hop astringency of dependable flagship.
JACK’S ABBY SHIPPING OUT OF BOSTON AMBER LAGER
On tap at Growler & Gill, easygoing moderation retains musky grain rusticity. Raw-honeyed amber grain toasting receives cellared fungi dampness, dewy peat mossing and hay-like hop astringency of an English bitter. Well beneath the surface, spritzy yellow fruiting contrasts green tea bittering.
BLUE POINT SURE THING LAGER
Subtle sea-salted lemon souring stays light on the tongue as mild yellow grapefruit, mandarin orange and tangelo illusions linger softly in the bready pale malt backdrop.
DESCHUTES DA SHOOTZ! PILSNER
Easygoing boho pilsner brings brisk lemon spritz to lemondrop-hopped tartness above biscuity French breaded carapils malting. Lightly spiced floral aspect caresses dainty lemongrass, chamomile and lupine remnants.
SCHILLING ALEXANDR 10′ CZECH-STYLE PILSNER
On tap at Ambulance, sessionable pilsner-malted dry body slips rustic earthen grain musk into herbal lemon-soured Saaz hop pungency and latent lemongrass-peppercorn conflux with fine results. On tap at Growler & Gill, muskily rustic amber-grained pilsner malting gained dank lemon rot and dark floral daubs, staying bold despite easy flow.
FREDERICK, MARYLAND – SO MANY BEERS, SO LITTLE TIME
Took three day July stroll down Frederick, Maryland, visiting eight brewpubs along the way on a scorching weekend tour. Though I didn’t get to ever-increasing behemoth, Flying Dog, they definitely had one of the best summer ales in bottle.
FLYING DOG TROPICAL TRUTH IMPERIAL IPA WITH MANGO AND PASSIONFRUIT PUREE
“Exotic” pine lacquered mango essence possesses pureed passionfruit souring saddling sharp lemon-peeled orange rind bittering and vodka-like 8.7% ABV boozing of hybridized Truth IPA adjunct. At the juicy finish, zesty mango spritz gains mild nectarine, cherry and pineapple sweetness to contrast slim grapefruit pith scurry, spruce-tipped pine needling and grassy hop astringency. Fruitful tropical sunshine.
IDIOM BREWING CO.
FREDERICK, MARYLAND
Located in an old red-bricked warehouse factory along Carroll Creek in Frederick, IDIOM BREWING CO. began operations, April ’19. Entrepreneurial brewer, Michael Clements, inspired by a Portland, Oregon journey, soon certified the logo “Expressions in Beer.”
A railroad-tied service station with twelve walled aluminum taps provides eight stools and two centralized TV’s for the cement-floored locale while the right side brewing space has a seperate bar area with pendant lighting and a space for bands to play.
A rear deck overlooking Carroll Creek features umbrella-clad tables where I’ll enjoy two delectable stouts this muggy afternoon in June ’20.
Milk-sugared coffee nuttiness and roasted dark chocolate consumed Pillow Talk Oatmeal Stout, a silken full body with maple-sugared oats base.
Breakfast-bound Tiramisu knockoff, Coffee & Cake White Stout, let cake-battered cocoa powdering, caramel chocolate sweetness and cream-cheesed marscapone sugaring ride above barley-flaked mocha malting. Fantastic!
Also on tap but untried were Level Up Hefeweizen, Trade Secret Pale Ale, Cosmic Debris IPA and Raise Your Eyebrow Rye IPA.
SMOKETOWN CREEKSIDE
FREDERICK, MARYLAND
‘Round the corner from Attaboy Beer in a commodious red brick-cornered professional space in Frederick, SMOKETOWN CREEKSIDE opened November ’19 (closing May ’23). Entrepreneurial guiding light, David Blackmon, and homebrewing retired fireman, Greg Nichols, have crafted 30-plus rangy one-offs, seasonals and barrel-aged dark ales, as well as respected flagship, Potomac IPA. His original seven-barrel Smoketown Brewing has been operating since ’17 along the Potomac River (18 miles Southwest) in Brunswick, bringing national bands to its capacious firehouse venue.
Creekside’s 10-barrel brewhouse features a bowling alley-wooded bar top, local artisans’ walled sculptures, round wood brewery insignia, two rear TV’s and a connected brewhouse near the back music studio. At present, they distribute beer all over Maryland.
A spacious fenced-in front deck gets packed as I peruse the premises this hot ‘n sticky late Sunday afternoon early July ’20.
I was thoroughly knocked out by the strong ales available during this stopover – taking home 26-ounce bottles of each.
A splendidly inspirational 11.5% ABV knockout, Walter’s Spirit Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter let its dry Virginia Gentleman bourbon whiskey frontage receive ashen tobacco-chawed hop bittering, cocoa-dried raw molasses sapping and black coffee beaning, upstaging any trace of toffee sweetness.
Smoky maple molasses sugaring brought a burnt caramel glaze to clover-honeyed Golden Promise malts and dewy rye-spiced chocolate creaming for heady (10% ABV) Scottish Wee Heavy, Ten Pound Hammer, a rich malt-forward charmer with latent peated whiskey notions.
Cellared yeast funk embedded cocoa-powdered dark roast coffee, sweet molasses oats and beet-sugared fig, prune and date for Wick’d Threesome Tripel, leaving charcoal hop-embittered ethanol esters to raid the pungent 9.7% alcohol throttler.
Dark chocolate steadied full-bodied oatmeal stout, Gandy, contrasting milk-sugared hazelnut coffee against walnut-charred hops.
A muddy medium-roast coffee theme engaged The Main Cup, a robust coffee stout stockpiling tertiary milked espresso, charred walnut, and peppercorn subtleties.
On the negative side, unconvincing flattish-headed mahogany body, Lockhouse 28 Imperial Stout, tried to navigate wood-charred black malt soy saucing into desiccated dried fruiting, day-old coffee and burnt tobacco.
smoketownbrewing.com
ATTABOY BEER
FREDERICK, MARYLAND
In a grayish blue brick warehouse, married couple Brian Ogden and Carly Ogden, opened ATTABOY BEER in early 2017. The ample bar space includes a marble-topped serving station with a few metal-wood tables and exposed ceiling ducts as well as an imposingly bright orange and blue-walled, capital-lettered BEER logo. Located at the same warehouse as Smoketown’s Creekside brewery, Attaboy generally specializes in crafting soft-toned pale suds while its neighboring competitor goes for more barrel aged dark ales.
Currently, Attaboy’s large warehouse-renovated glass-encased 10-barrelhouse operation (with several wood barrels for aging) lies on the other side of Carroll Creek just a few blocks away. That location concentrates on blended barrel-aged sour ales and one-off experimental brews.
I enjoyed two fine saisons at the benched parking lot patio during my June ’20 one-hour excursion.
Tart hibiscus-flowered lemon meringue creaming gathers white grape, papaya, passionfruit and orange blossom illusions to lather dry white-peppered herbage above hay-like barnyard leathering for Golden Fields Saison.
Even more tart, spritzy barrel aged saison, Farmboy (Raspberry), retained dry rosé, champale, shiraz and pinot tones as well as sour gooseberry, green grape and cranberry nuances that underscored its herb-salted raspberry piquancy.
ROCKWELL BREWERY
FREDERICK, MARYLAND
In the midst of a mini-mall stationed just next door to Midnight Run Brewing on the outskirts of Frederick, Maryland, ROCKWELL BREWERY owner Paul Tinney (a guitar designer) and brewmaster Scott Kernon succeed at creating an “intimate and fun atmosphere” for lovers of straightforwardly stylistic suds.
Recalling a black-walled art deco studio, this mid-sized brewery’s exquisite post-modernist neo-Industrial setting features glimmering bulb-lit ROCKWELL lettering along the wall, an abstract tap station, mosaic wood bar, stark ceiling-bound exposed pipes and sturdy community tables.
The brewhouse and storage deck the rear and a cement benched deck with partial covering allows for extra seating during my friendly June ’20 excursion.
First up, mild helles lager, Mausketeer, plied maize-dried astringency to herbal Hallertau hops, musky pilsner malts and acrid barnyard mustiness for a briskly light-bodied thirst quencher.
Best sellin’ Rapture, a crisply dry blonde ale, lets spritzy lemon zest snuggle alongside grassy-hopped cracked wheat rusticity for perfect lawnmower fodder.
Dewy peat moisture soaks into sweet tobacco-roasted mocha malts for That “B” CB English Pale Ale, allowing British Golding hops to provide slight floral herbage.
Honeyed caramel spicing sweetened Sump N Good, a fine Vienna lager with subtle peach, apple, pear and cherry illusions.
Toasted amber grains and caramelized chocolate malts led Dropkick Irish Red, a dewy moderation scattering leafy-hopped red and orange fruiting.
Easygoing Spacegrass East Frederick IPA gathered floral-daubed peach, pineapple, grapefruit and orange tanginess for its dry piney hop lacquering.
Dry piney citrus bittering engaged floral-perfumed hops for Smooth Operator, an “easy IPA” garnering tangy orange-grapefruit, peach and pineapple juiciness.
A hazy yellowed glow brightened lactic Tidal Wave, a trusty New England IPA posting tangy grapefruit zest, tart passionfruit sedation and guava-candied pineapple souring.
Tart raspberry puree spread across candied lemon, green grape, guava and gooseberry souring for salt-licked Raspberry Beret, a lightly vinous sour ale.
Smooth coffee overtones fronted nitogenated Speed Of Darkness, a dry Irish Stout dangling mild dark cocoa creaming above waxy black patent malts.
Heavenly mocha moderation, Bitchin’ Camaro Milk Stout, brought soothing chocolate-coffee creaminess to fudged brownie, toffee and cookie dough sweetness.
Sublime Ace Of Spades Barleywine bolstered rummy cherry, burgundy, raisin and fig tones with toffee-spiced molasses chocolate malting.
MIDNIGHT RUN BREWING
FREDERICK, MARYLAND
Former garage-bound alchemists now specializing in ‘non-conformist ales,’ MIDNIGHT RUN BREWING is the creation of two collaborative friends, Rich & Brent. Since opening September ’17, the crafty science and art duo have continued to make unique small batch brews for local brethren and traveling connoisseurs alike.
Inside a freestanding red brick edifice dressed up in black art deco, its stained concrete floor, exposed pipes and milled wood left wall retain a semi-rustic feel. A three-barrel brew room is in the rear and an Edison light-chained back patio has three community tables.
Startling the senses with some of the most original, exciting and varied brews in Western Maryland, Midnight Run began serving suds Saturday at noon for my June ’20 visitation.
Limey blueberry bittering gained honeyed oats sweetness for sessionable Eternity Pale Ale, a tidy light-bodied opener.
Flagship India Pale Ale, Tempo, maintained sessionable accessibility as vibrant grapefruit, peach, tangerine, mango and papaya tropicalia seeped into piney wood tones as well as salty-spiced white peppering.
Sweet vanilla-creamed orange tang serenaded ‘hazy IPA,’ All Together, picking up herbal piney hop resin and brisk grapefruit-peeled lemon licks.
Zesty orange peel briskness dominated S.I.P.A., a crystal malt sweetened India Pale Ale with subtle herbage.
Crisply clean Imperial IPA, Atat, brought peachy orange-candied grapefruit tanginess to wood-dried peppery herbs and sturdy pale malting.
Dewy Belgian yeast added fungi cellared mildewing to bittersweet grapefruit-peeled orange zest for Continuum, a funky tropical (Citra-El Dorado-Cashmere-hopped) IPA.
Mild powder-candied raspberry tartness and vinous white grape must enveloped easygoing sour ale, Electric Monster: Sweet-Tart.
Mellow Belgian Blonde, Golden Child, tranquilized the tongue with its spicy lemon-candied repose, dainty banana bubblegum stint and herbal lemongrass nip.
Debonair ‘golden quad,’ White Devil, revealed candi-sugared spiced rum, banana daiquiri, sugared fig, candied apple, lemon meringue, creamy vanilla and Chardonnay illusions dotting white-peppered clove, allspice and ginger snips in a dank cellared fungi yeast setting.
White chocolate-spiced Imperial Blonde Ale, White Sexual Chocolate, allowed vanilla-creamed cocoa nibs to caress light whiskey tones over dry honeyed pale malts.
Caramel espresso latte knockoff, American Darkness Oat Stout, let molasses maple oats sweeten its ancillary cocoa nibs, toffee and vanilla daubs against tarry black patent-malted bittering as distant bruised black cherry notions and mild anise spicing surfaced.
Confectionery chocolate-candied Imperial Milk Stout, Milky Way, proved exceptionally luscious as caramel, vanilla, toasted coconut, marshmallow and molasses cookie undertones kept the sweetness going strong. The fudgy Milky Way knockoff also revealed latent cocoa-dried espresso serenity, bruised cherry tartness and hazelnut pasting.