Tonight, the Columbia Pint Night group elected to forego our usual haunt, Frisco Taphouse and visited Black Flag instead. The delicious Firestone Walker Pint Night was at Frisco, but we went with Bring Your Own Mug at Black Flag instead.  

I brought my gold-rimmed Spreewald mug, a gift from our East German Au Pair from 2001. Z, showing his usual restraint, brought his gallon plus La Fin Du Monde glass.

I enjoyed all the beers I tasted:

• I Ain’t Afraid of No Gose – a gentle gose
• Aggro’d – a 1-year barrel-aged sour
• Dude Mountain – a coconut, coffee stout with cocoa nibs
• Brexit – ESB with Earl Grey Tea
• Z Morris – a malty blonde ale
• Another Hazy BOI – Unfiltered pale ale, plenty of juicy hops!

Background, 2 years ago I visited Black Flag for their grand opening. To be totally honest, other than Rainbow Road, I really didn’t enjoy any of Black Flag’s beers. Steven from Bond Distributing assured me that Black Flag would improve, saying “Just give them time.” I was skeptical, to say the least.

About two years later (today), I visited Black Flag and really enjoyed all their beers. The beer that for me, really hit it out of the park was Brexit, an ESB with Earl Grey tea. This ale of an unassuming style was complex and delicious. The dramatic turnaround of Black Flag from 2 years ago is remarkable. Before, I found their beers pretty mediocre. Today, I relished all their beers. The turnaround is so dramatic, that I ask the question, “Is Black Flag the best brewery in Howard County?”

I put the question to the Columbia Pint Night group and their response is to have a HoCo beer challenge. Once Sapwood Cellars opens, there will be 7 breweries in Howard County: Reckless, Hysteria, Black Flag, Ellicott Mills, Manor Hill, and Jail Break. This fall we will have a HoCo challenge, where each of us brings their favorite HoCo beer for a single elimination competition.

I’ll keep you posted.

Cheers!
Warren