Columbia’s First Brewery

Just off Snowden River Parkway near Lincoln Tech is Howard County’s latest brewery, Black Flag Brewing Company. I had not visited Black Flag since its opening in late July of 2016. As you can imagine, the grand opening of Columbia’s first production brewery and tap room (with free pizza tossed in) was a mad house.  With the new year, I thought it was time to revisit it.

Their web page provides directions:

“To find us on Snowden River Parkway we are behind Lincoln Techs large parking lot. The easiest way to get to us is to turn onto the unnamed road immediately next to EZ Storage.”

As the directions indicate, it is located in a strip mall off a busy roadway. Located right next door to the Goldfish Swim School, Black Flag sits in a warehouse. When first entering Black Flag’s impressive front entrance, I was struck by the high ceilings, hard surfaces, bright lights and noise. The light wood bar and tables are a nice contrast to the industrial feel of the place.

Black Flag does not have a kitchen, but food trucks frequently support the operation. To get a beer, we headed to the large bar since there was no table service. I recommend purchasing a flight– the best way to get to know a brewery’s beers. Black Flag has 10 tap lines, with several IPAs, some stouts, a blonde and even a Belgian. I shared a flight of 5 beers plus sampled one pint.

Here’s what I tried:

• Rainbow Road – loved the grapefruit taste, quite a hop bomb.*
• Feats of Strength – Coffee nose with sweet, coffee flavor.
• Flagship IPA – a solid, dank IPA, perhaps their best beer. *
• Mambo Sauce – a nice hoppy, double IPA.
• Garage Banger – a milder hopped IPA.*
• Airing of Grievances – Similar to Feats of Strength with a little less coffee

*Beers I would order again

We all shared a bench table, grabbed a game from the bar and enjoyed some well-made craft beers. It was a fun time with a good crowd for 4 o’clockish on a weekday. The crowd started to build up as we left around 6 PM.

We in Columbia are fortunate to have this fine brewery. I’m impressed at how much it has improved since my first visit and look forward to my next Black Flag experience.

Cheers,

Warren