MD Brewery Challenge #41
Adamstown, MD
I am enjoying toast with a few homemade poppers (roasted banana peppers stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in bacon). The toast has no crunch but is silky smooth, almost creamy, with a subtle malty sweetness and a touch of citrusy lemon. This bready treat actually comes from a growler filled at Mad Science Brewing Company from Thanksgiving Farms. It is the award-winning Helles Belles, a Munich lager, and I’m loving it!
Earlier, I convinced my wife to come with me for the 50-minute drive from Columbia to Adamstown to visit Mad Science. This is number 41 of my Maryland Brewery Challenge. The leaves are just beginning to change, so this promised to be a pretty drive.
The route is very simple; drive to Frederick and make a left. We passed the familiar English Muffin Way (John and I had turned there for Flying Dog – #40). We passed by Buckeystown with its grand homes into a world of farmland as far as you could see.
We turned into the Thanksgiving Farms complex and easily found the Mad Science Brewing tasting room. There we met the knowledgeable and friendly, Brian Roberts, behind the bar.
Brian Roberts is a scientist, hence the Mad Science name. He introduced us to his many skeletons, some of which he uses for a science class he teaches. Draped on one hangs a medal awarded for his spectacular Helles Belles.
Besides the scrumptious Helles Belles, I tasted a sample of the collaborative Autumn Logger. It is a refreshing harvest ale made with Olde Mother, 1812 and Mad Science. Dark in color, it is a well-made, enjoyable beer. They also offered their Pumpkin Logger, a variant with pumpkin, cinnamon, and vanilla, all Randall-infused in the Autumn Logger – lots of pumpkin taste in that one! I regret not trying some of the purees available with the Helles Belles, such as Blood Orange, Wild Berry, Pomegranate, and Cranberry. Maybe next time.
Mad Science Brewing Company is a class 8 farm brewery. This means something grown on the farm is in every beer. On Thanksgiving Farms, he grows 7 varieties of hops. He uses all his hops exclusively for making his beer. All his hops are hand-picked by Brian and his three kids. The beer is brewed by local breweries contracted by Mad Science; he provides the recipes and some ingredients from the Thanksgiving Farms.
Mad Science offers a unique opportunity – a Community-Supported Brewery Program or CSB. The CSB gives growler-fill discounts plus some member-only special events like an end-of-summer picnic. The Thanksgiving Farms has a CSA as well, for those wanting to support locally grown food; you can buy your fruits and vegetables while your growler is being filled.
Looking for a fun place with friendly people and a beautiful drive? Mad Science is open Saturday and Sundays from 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM. You can drink their terrific beer indoors or outdoors. And sometimes they even have music.
Brian Roberts is definitely a scientist. I told him I use the app, Yahoo! Weather, for its impressive visuals and disregard its inaccuracies. Brian goes directly to the source – The Weather Channel, of course. Well, I’m a geographer and love maps. Here’s a link to my 2017 Maryland Brewery Challenge map.
Cheers!
Warren