Tag Archives: BERLIN MD

SINEPUXENT BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

BERLIN, MARYLAND

On a rustic farm inside an old wooden-floored barnhouse, Berlin’s unapologetically rural SINEPUXENT BREWING COMPANY came to life in 2020. A certified Maryland farmhouse brewery one mile southwest of Burley Oak Brewing, Sinepuxent’s expansive agrarian territory includes picnic-tabled side deck, planted fruits, hop vines and goats plus a glimmering side-walled blue tile mosaic.

The smallish cabinesque interior features a bark-fronted wood top bar with a few four-seaters and wood-tabled aluminum chairs. Endless beer stickers line the walls and olden wood beams. A centralized refrigerator contains beers-to-go while flatbread pizzas and snacks prove pub-worthy.

Head brewer Matt Kansak joined me and the wife buried eight dandy suds on a windy Thursday afternoon, February ’26.

Placing dark-spiced lemony grapefruit tanginess across musky grain-husked rye breading, Rye-PA Pale Ale picked up a mild herbal nip at the citric-laced finish.

Lightly sea-salted oyster shells gave Werster Erster Saison its buttery umami frontage before strawberry rhubarb tartness, Chardonnay buttering, banana bubblegum and sweet orange peel gathered at its dry peppery barnyard base.

Abbey-styled Belgian Dubbel retained caramelized dry rum spicing as subtle pear, banana and vanilla illusions slowly emerged.

Candied strawberry powdering sweetened almond and coconut toasted macaron knockoff, Strawberry Macaron with Almond IPA, a berry-fortified IPA offshoot with stylish piney grapefruit bittering and orange peel zesting merely backdrop.

Wintry cinnamon-toasted nutmeg, allspice and clove saddled Disgourd Pumpkin Ale, tucking bourbon vanilla inside its pumpkin-spiced finish.

Disguising its pumpkin pie spicing with Buffalo Trace bourbon, Barrel-Aged Disgourd Pumpkin Ale sunk earthen gourd into mild orange oiling and oaken vanilla at the dewy peated whiskey base.

English-styled Pony Kick Porter let roasted Costa Rican and Peruvian coffee sway dark chocolate, espresso, vanilla, coconut and coffee cake subsidies.

Brown chocolate-spiced bourbon molasses saturated exquisite Barleywine, leaving butternut, chestnut and almond flirtations on its sweet mocha-induced spirits.

BERLIN BEER COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

BERLIN, MARYLAND

At a renovated freight train station and feed store in a historic Delmarva downtown, BERLIN BEER COMPANY opened September ’24 (one mile down the road from Burley Brewing). A homebrewer since 2013, owner Adam Davis mans the windowed brew tanks at this rustic aluminum Industrial shed.

There’s a hanging silo and green Berlin Beer Company sign welcoming patrons to the daintily warm and elegant hearth-walled pub. Inside, olden wood beams, original wood floors, Edison-lighted chandelier, barn doors and the oak top bar get displayed below the slanted ceiling. Four-seat tables surrounded the U-shaped bar (with central tap station and a few TV’s). A 50-seat dining room, patioed biergarden and wood porch add further seating.

“Elevated street food” got served alongside five well rounded home brews on my late February ’26 venture.

Spritzy lemon fizz tickled the nose for herbal Saphir-hopped light lager, Lawn Chair, a crisply sessionable pilsner-malted opener.

Flagship New England IPA, Green Suede Shoes, let salty lemony grapefruit and lightly embittered orange rind reach mild oats base in brisk Citra-Mosaic double dry-hopped setting.

A stronger 9.4% ABV NEIPA, Berlin Fog, caressed lemony grapefruit, pineapple and orange rind bittering with pungent pine bluster over creamy vanilla-sugared oated wheat base, gaining fruited vodka, dry rum and candied peach whims.

Brown-sugared peach puree anchored cinnamon-sweetened fruited sour, Ad Libs Peach Cobbler Cinnamon Toast, leaving Fruity Pebbles, limey pina colada and zesty marinade illusions on the tartly tangy peach frontage.

On the dark side, syrupy black chocolate and dark coffee resin swiped nut-charred Forgotten Porter, picking up thin pudding skin crusting.

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