Continued from Denizens

MD Brewery Challenge #18

After a typical Maryland downpour, we left Denizens Brewing Company and headed to 7 Locks Brewing. I made it exciting by running in flip-flops and losing one of them in the water in the street. Once my Teva sandles got wet, it kept sliding off, then the rain started up again. I ended up hopping on one foot to the car in the rain.

This time I turned on the GPS and we arrived at 7 Locks in less than 20 minutes. Parked outside was the Say Cheese! food truck. I couldn’t resist and ordered one of their scrumptious grilled cheese sandwiches, the Caprese.

Inside 7 Locks, we felt like we had crashed a neighborhood block party. Just inside the door, kids were intensely playing a ball game using buckets as goals. Young families occupied most of the tables, with babies and little ones scurrying around everywhere. One large table was celebrating their friends 40th birthday. Soccer was playing on the large TV. Brewing vessels were just part of the decor in the taproom.

We ordered a flight which proudly displayed a 7 on the paddle. We selected our beers by

checking the 5 beers we wanted on their sampler sheet. I enjoyed them all quite a bit.

• Bitch Monkey Sour – Mildly sour with a sweet almost soda pop taste. Fruity and refreshing.
•  Snakeden Saison – Lots of fruity esters: bubblegum, pepper, hay. Nice!
• Devil’s Alley IPA – Wonderfully fruity nose, with well-balanced hop and malt. Really a well-made IPA and the star of our flight.
• Surrender Dorothy RyePA – Nice rye spice melded with piney hops. BTW, a great name. I’m assuming the name came from graffiti on a bridge with the Mormon temple in the background once visible from the Washington, D.C. beltway.
• Barrel Aged Imperial Stout – Strong bourbon taste with hints of cocoa and vanilla.

I felt a little sorry for the talented guitar player who began playing just before we headed out the door. He was quite good but he could hardly compete with the energy from the crowd.

7 Locks, number eighteen on my Maryland brewery challenge was quite a hit. It has really become a successful brewery and community center since my first visit about a year ago.

To check out my progress click on the MD Brewery challenge.

Cheers!

Warren