Baltimore’s a great town for beer, and for a beer tour.
I had a great time during my few days of foraging through Baltimore discovering some of the best local brews and breweries thanks to the knowledgeable folks at City Brew Tours.
City Brew Tours
“You drink, we drive” is the City Brew credo, which runs tours of craft brewer tours in Baltimore and five other cities (Boston, Burlington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and DC). Typical guided tours last five hours. My guide (Emerson) was brilliant. His knowledge of beer and of Baltimore was expert, and his driving was super safe. Van was comfy. I found the choice of breweries to visit to be topnotch. For more about City Brew Tours, go to citybrewtours.com.
With City Brew I visited three in-town breweries: Brew House No. 16, Oliver Brewing Co, and Waverly Brewing Co. Want a bit of info about these places and their beers? Allow me to hop to it!
Brew House No. 16
Set inside a century-old firehouse in Baltimore’s historic district of Mount Vernon, Brew House No. 16 is a gastropub with microbrewery in the back. I liked all the German inspired beers that I tried here. The Intro to German 101, a crisp lager with a hint of malt, was especially refreshing. Food was yummy too. The kitchen’s focus is on farm-to-table. On the bar snacky side of things, the artisan cheese plate, charcuterie and homemade soft pretzels with Cheddar ale dip are all worthy of pairing with Brew House’s quality beers. Find out more at brewhouseno16.com.
Oliver Brewing Company
Creating authentic English ales to a heavy metal soundtrack in a vast industrial park unit (with cozy tasting room) on the northwest edge of town, Oliver Brewing Company is the oldest of the new breed of Baltimore craft beer producers. The brewery’s Bishop’s Breakfast oatmeal stout was the most satisfying of suds I sampled. I was impressed with the barrel aged brews as well. Details at oliverbrewingco.com.
Waverly Brewing Company
Offering a casual and welcoming pub atmosphere and a lineup of tasty and seasonally brewed beers, Waverly Brewing Company is located in the hipster HQ of Hampden-Woodberry. Inventive brews were the highlight of my visit. I very much enjoyed drinking the citrusy Alice’s Pils pilsner and the Local Oyster – Real Oyster Stout made, a “roasty, dark stout dosed with the shells and meat of real Maryland oysters.” More at waverlybrewingcompany.com.
More Taste Baltimore posts coming soon.
