Baltimore, MD

The Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood (SPBW) came up with a terrific idea – use the light rail for a bar crawl. I joined 10 beer enthusiasts for visits to Union Craft Brewing, Waverly Brewing, and Brass Tap. 

I headed north from the BWI business light rail station to the Woodberry stop near the Union Craft Brewery. Along the way, 2 SPBW members, President Jason Black and JA, joined me, thankfully. I’m quite the light rail nube, so it was great to have some Baltimore veterans to guide me.

Union Craft Brewing

We arrived at Union just in time for a tour of the place. Our tour guide, Chris, has years of experience with Union and gave a fun tour.  Union has just celebrated their 5th year of operation.  They will be moving to a bigger place, just across the Jones Falls River,  hopefully in the spring. Their new capacity will at least triple. They expect to hire 100 new employees over the coming years.

Keeping with the SPBW theme, I had an Old Pro on cask with pomegranate – nice and tart with just a touch of sweetness.

Waverly Brewing

Just around the corner is Waverly Brewing. Their entrance is shaded by some sailboat sails that give it a little Baltimore charm. I enjoyed their sweet and easy drinking Golden Sombrero, their most popular beer. The tiny Waverly has been open for two years. Inside the tap room was a good crowd of what looked like Waverly regulars.

Being a 5-barrel brewhouse, Waverly can be experimental with their beers. Some of their past beers used breakfast cereals and other unique ingredients. If you want to know more about this interesting brewery, watch the Uncapped podcast video, Episode 038, Waverly Brewing Company.

Brass Tap

We headed south on the light rail to the Mt. Royal/MICA stop. The Brass Tap is located just across the street from the stop in the Fitzgerald, an apartment building on Mount Royal. The Brass Tap is a Florida bar chain known for their craft-beer selection. A similar chain is the World of Beer.

The SPBW group descended on the Brass Tap and enjoyed a table in air conditioned comfort. Out of the 60 beers on tap, I picked an old favorite, Bell’s Two Hearted. My end of the table went for this great beer, with a twist, it was on cask. The amber colored ale with a creamy head and hoppy finish was delicious!

Also, we were lucky enough to have Barry Lowenthal, the Brass Tap owner, stop by our table.

2017 MD Brewery Challenge

As an added bonus to this fun beer crawl, I have added 2 more breweries to my Maryland Brewery Challenge; Union is number 25 and Waverly is 26! I picked 57 Maryland brewers that are members of the Brewers Association of Maryland and open on January 1st, 2017. Check out the map I’ve made to keep track of this adventure.

Cheers!

Warren