THE REVIEW
Tucson AZ has two great bottle shop / taproom hybrids that provide the best of both worlds for beer enthusiasts.
Nate Todd opened The Other One Brewery in Ocean City MD in 2023. Beginning with a homebrewing kit resulted in a deep passion for brewing. He served as head brewer at Backshore Brewing here for that operation's last two years, and wound up purchasing much of Backshore's equipment when the company closed in November 2021.
On August 3, 2024, Guinness Open Gate Brewery, just outside of Baltimore, opened its gates to breweries from across Maryland for the first Beer From Here beer festival. I talked with Ryan Wagner, Guinness’ National Ambassador, and Jon Zerivitz, Union Craft Brewing Co-founder and Maryland Brewer’s Association Senior Marketing Strategist about the event and Maryland beer.
I first met Adam Davis in August 2022 while he was at Burley Oak Brewing in Berlin, MD. Not long after that, Adam announced he would plant his own flag in the sand with the Berlin Beer Company (BBC), a 3-minute drive and less than a mile from Burley. I have been following his progress ever since. In June 2024, Adam showed me around the progress at Berlin Beer Co.
Upper Stem Brewery is a licensed farm brewery in Washington County, just northeast of Hagerstown, MD. In April 2020, as the world grappled with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dan Winger decided to launch his brewery, a risky move given the uncertain times. Yet, they navigated the challenging waters through ingenuity and a small canning operation, providing curbside delivery that kept the dream alive.
In early March 2024, I visited the 1812 Brewery outside Cumberland, Maryland. I'd heard about the brewery from local friends and had hoped to visit myself, but the timing was never right. So, when traveling to western Maryland for a friend’s retirement party, I asked if I could stop by and learn more about the brewery and its people, and they welcomed our meeting.
I began writing this during chilly November 2023, then added some edits while watching the daffodils blooming in March. And now it’s June and warmer temps. Where does the time go? I have been working on some other writing projects, and I have not brought this one to a conclusion. These are a few thoughts about my writing for this year and how it relates to my relationship with beer, travel, and life.
Craft breweries have to navigate local laws from county and city jurisdictions, and an unfavorable business climate which puts Maryland at a disadvantage when competing with neighboring states and simply keeping the lights on.
It isn't easy to learn of another local brewery closing. There will always be business cycles, and craft beer is no different. Even so, breweries are opening in Maryland, and successful breweries are growing, adding taproom locations, and expanding markets.
And so it continues! Open, close, move, grow — the business cycle for breweries, large and small, continues to shift, creating new partnerships, voids, and opportunities. But it's the season for Oktoberfest, autumn seasonals, barrel-aged beauties, and otherwise great beer-drinking weather. Enjoy!