Fulton, MD December 10, 2018

Bike HoCo (Bicycling Advocates of Howard County) held their annual Holiday Social at Lib’s Grill in Maple Lawn. This was my first time visiting this steak, seafood and raw bar restaurant. 

I had a very good Blackened Shrimp Cobb’s Salad for my meal but was mostly impressed with their craft beer selection. I was in an IPA mood, so I ordered a Cigar City Jai Alai from their draught list. This Tampa Florida brewery makes one of the premier India Pale Ales in the country, so I pounced on the chance to savor this complex, rare treat. I would agree with Beer Advocates description of this fine IPA: “Pours copper in color with notes of citrus and tropical fruit in the aroma. Flavor has upfront citrus bitterness with a hint of caramel and citrus and tropical fruit hop notes in the finish.”

As mentioned in previous posts, I’m not one to repeat beers in an evening, not to mention Jai Alai is a 7.5% beer. For my next beer, I selected a Lib’s Grill Brew, a golden pale ale brewed for Lib’s by Salisbury brewer, Evolution. At 5% ABV, this well-made beer is easy drinking with plenty of satisfying hop character. I also stole a sip of another Maryland brewed IPA available on tap, Key Brewing’s  Speed Wobbles. My small sip revealed a surprisingly creamy IPA with just a hint of hop flavor. At 4.6% ABV, this is the very definition of a session IPA.

There beer list is small, but well-selected including:

• Hoegaarden (the granddaddy of wits)
• Guinness (one of my favorites and a must at most bars)
• Natty Boh (a Baltimore standard)
• Bold Rock (a Virginia Cider)
• Brooklyn Lager (anything from Brooklyn is money)

On their beer menu, they also carry 6 craft beer in bottles or cans, many from Maryland. I got a chuckle out of some of their “imports” listed at the bottom of the menu, including Bud Light Lime, Blue Moon, and Sam Adams. We were lucky to hold our event during their happy hour which is Monday – Friday between 3-7 and got a $1 off all draughts.

Lib’s Grill has 2 locations:

• 8191 Maple Lawn Boulevard
  Fulton, MD 20759
  301.725.5427
• 50009 Honeygo Center Drive, Suite 101
  Perry Hall, MD 21128
  410.513.7133

Cheers!

Warren