Columbia, MD

Despite a rainy day, the people of Columbia welcomed Hysteria Brewing Company with open arms. A nice crowd came out for the grand reopening, which offered music, coffee, toffee, and of course, beer. 

When I first entered Hysteria, a dashing fellow in a white suit offered me some toffee. Bill McAllen of McAllen Toffee mentioned that his toffee was included in Darkest Hour W/ Chocolate Toffee And Sea Salt, a cask version of Hysteria’s Darkest Hour Stout. I loved both of my samples of the toffee and the cask beer. BTW, you can find Bill’s toffee at the Wine Bin in Ellicott City or the Breadery in Catonsville.

The taproom was buzzing with excitement. I wangled my way to the bar and order a Trash Panda, of course. Sadly, Ty told me that Trash Panda was too green to serve. I’d have to wait another week. Instead, he recommended the Barrel-aged Grandmother’s Milk, which was wonderful. I loved the tastes of whiskey, caramel, chocolate, coffee, and alcohol. It tasted too smooth to be 10.6%. Watch out for this one!

I loved the Hysteria Clock listing the beers on tap. We played a game of trying to occupy all the latest Untappd listings on the bottom of the screen.

The sounds of Acoustic Wheelhouse filled the taproom with a fun mix of blues and light rock. I met the acoustic duo, Brandon Eades and Elle Christine during their break. They are very local, from Ellicott City. Brandon plays barefoot because he “likes to connect with his stage.”

Hysteria offers flights of 3, so I ordered:

• This Is Not A Test –  Easy drinking IPA with pineapple nose.
• Mo’Saic, Mo’Problems! – Grainy, toasty pale ale. Lots of hop character and alcohol. Nice!
• Yellow Sudmarine – Disappointing. Where’s the banana?

Mingling through the crowd, I ran across neighbors, friends and even some Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood (SPBW) members. Hysteria feels like my Columbia.

I caught a few friends talking to the brewer, Jordan. He says Trash Panda should be ready by next weekend.

The Hysteria Brewing Company seems a great fit for Columbia. I really like that they are partnering with local vendors. I can’t wait for my next visit.

Cheers!

Warren