Columbia, MD

SPBW or the Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood was meeting at the Ale House Columbia. SPBW is for members that like to drink cask beer, and the Ale House offered a few for us. 

My family likes to refer to SPBW as SPEW from Harry Potter – Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. It is a not so funny joke that has somehow caught on at our household. I guess it’s their way of reminding me to not take this whole beer thing too seriously. So I have embraced the joke and call it SPEW with family members.

Before heading to the Ale House, we had dinner at our house with friends and fellow SPEW SPBW members, Ira and Yvette. They are redoing their kitchen, we had too many heirloom tomatoes from the garden and they were coming to Columbia anyway, so it all made sense. Before our gazpacho and tomato salad with mozzarella and basil, I dug out a crowler of Devine Retribution No. 4 from Duclaw. They are big stout fans, so it was a big hit. I liked the coffee and roasted malt taste mixed with alcohol. It was creamy and delicious!

We were a bit late for SPBW but they saved some beer for us. They had 3 casks available, Bishops Breakfast (Oliver), 206 IPA (Oliver) and To-Gose (Abita). I picked a To-Gose and really enjoyed the salty key-lime mixture with a bit of tartness. Everyone was raving about the Barley and Hops – Franchot Comes Alive, so I ordered a 5 oz sample. This tribute beer to our Maryland Comptroller and a strong advocate for Maryland breweries was a terrific blend of sweet malt and subtle hops – plus it uses Maryland malt!

Cheers!

Warren