December 9th, 2017, Owings, MD

Maryland Brewery Challenge #51

Snowfall began again as we pulled into the empty Scorpion Brewing parking lot. We arrived early for the fourth stop on our Southern Maryland road trip and 51st stop on the Maryland Brewery Challenge. 

A few minutes before opening, we barged into Scorpion to get warm and find a bathroom. A bear of a man was mopping the floor and getting the place ready for customers. The bear turned out to be Scorpion’s head brewer and all around nice guy, Jeremiah Rasmussen. He was bartending that day, so after cleaning up, he poured us a couple samples and showed us around the place.

It was nice to talk to the guy who actually makes Scorpion’s beer. Plus, It turns out it was quite tasty. My favorite was the Sour Saison, slightly sour with some complex “barnyard” flavors – smoke & leather come to mind. For a 7-barrel system, Scorpion has a nice variety of beers to choose from.

According to Jeremiah, his fascination with beer began when he stole his sister’s Blue Moon out of the fridge. He says it was “the first beer not to taste like liquid bread.” Later, his sister took him on a beer vacation to Ashville. After that, he’s been hooked on craft beer. Prior to Scorpion, Jeremiah has brewed professionally at DC Brau and Calvert Brewing.

Besides the Sour Saison, we tried a tasty Oktoberfest “Table Beer”.  We had sampled quite a few from the tap list, including an unusual Toasted Caraway Rye pale ale on cask.  It reminded me of caraway rye bread. I enjoyed this intriguing beer but can’t imagine drinking an entire pint of it. All Scorpion’s beers were well-made. Below is that day’s list.

Scorpion’s owner, Brian Dailey, joined us a bit later. He is excited about his brewery, its success and the following it is developing. They have plans to malt local grain for ingredients in their very local beer. He is very active in his church and the Boy Scouts. In fact, he says the church was very supportive in helping to start-up his brewery (My kind of church).

The name “Scorpion” has Southern Maryland roots. During the War of  1812, the flagship of the flotilla, the “Scorpion”, was scuttled (destroyed) in the Patuxent River in 1814 to prevent British capture.

We had a great time at Scorpion Brewing, hanging with the owner and brewer, plus their beer is pretty fantastic. This Southern Maryland brewery is a must stop when in the neighborhood.

Cheers!

Warren