Growing up in Maryland the Eastern Shore and specifically Ocean City has been the summer rite of passage for all 35 of my years on this earth. Affectionately referred to as, “going downyoshun,” Ocean City offers a seaside resort town with plenty of beach, plenty of crab cakes and still has that small town feel. I can’t help it, I love Ocean City!
Recently, I’d been reading some buzz on the interwebs about two relatively new brewing operations claiming my beloved town of Ocean City as their home. Obviously, these new establishments called for a beer tasting trip! I gathered a co-pilot for the trip (this time my buddy Damion, who for the record is an AWFUL co-pilot, but thats a story for a different day) and we headed East toward Ocean City!
The plan was to leave Western Maryland after work on a Friday, stop in Salisbury at the also relatively new Evolution Brewing for some sustenance and then continue on our way to the shore. However, right out of the drive way I knew this plan was sunk. When we left we were slightly behind in time and Maryland was getting his with violent thunderstorms. To my disgust the traffic getting to the Bay Bridge was awful, Maryland, Baltimore and Washington DC traffic is notoriously snarled. Thus, we scraped the idea to stop at Evolution and head straight to Ocean City. Almost 5 hours later we drove across the draw bridge into the heart of Downtown Ocean City. After maneuvering through swarms of pedestrians and cars we went straight to Anthony’s Beer and Wine on 33rd Street and Coastal Highway. Anthony’s has amazing subs from the deli and I had heard they put in new coolers during the offseason to increase their craft beer offering. I was not disappointed! My turkey sub was delicious AND I found a HUGE selection of both warm and cold craft beers. Cans, bottles, cases, 6 packs and even a large assortment of cold 22oz bombers. Much to my shock and happy delight I found a HUGE selection of Maine Beer Company bombers. I picked up “Lunch,” the IPA offering from Maine Beer Company and a few other random selections. Thus, beer fan visiting Ocean City has got to put a stop at Anthony’s on their to-do list! After checking in to our Hotel, eating and having a few beers it was time for serious sleep! (Ps...Lunch was fantastic! Maybe the best IPA I’ve had in a LONG time! Get some if you can find it...)
Saturday morning broke to more rain and thunderstorms. Not a great beach day so after breakfast and the prerequisite Dunkin Donuts coffee we headed for Burely Oak Brewing in Berlin. Burley Oak was about 15 minutes outside Ocean City. Its not very easy to find! But once located the place is very nice. We entered the tasting room to find a respectable crowd of at least 15 people. The bears available are listed well on a chalk board and merchandise is available. Since I was driving I narrowed my choice to 3 x 4oz samples. My buddy had a few more than 3. The 4oz samples were only $3 and I thought that was fairly reasonable. My favorite beer I sampled was the special cask they had on tap. The base beer was the Burley Oak Rude Boy, which is an English Style Barley Wine but the cask was aged with apricots and cocoa nibs. The beer took on a nice chocolate color and the apricots stood out when sampled followed by a nice malty finish. Burley Oak won be over with this sample! I also tried their Belgian IPA, Waffle Stomper. It was superb. Nicely hopped and just bitter enough without being over bearing. Overall, I really liked Burley Oak! They have won me over and I’m a large fan. I’ll be adding a stop by the Burley Oak tasting room to each of my trips this summer.
After Burly Oak we headed back to Ocean City proper to visit the next Brewery we’d been hearing about. Shore Billy Brewing is a brew pub being operated on 10th street and the boardwalk in Ocean City. Thankfully, out hotel was on 19th street so a quick walk down the boardwalk and we were heading into our next destination. Shore Billy is new, as in only been open less than a month. However, they were packed! We grabbed the last open booth and proceeded to give this place a full workout. I ordered a “skate” which is a pretty cool way of handing out a sample of all 4 beers being offered on tap. The “skate” was actually a skateboard drilled to hold 4 x 4oz sample glasses. While the idea was quite unique, the beers weren’t quite as unique. I had a Stout, a wheat beer, a brown ale and something else that I don’t remember. Honestly, the beer wasn’t bad at all but it wasn’t mind blowing either. Basically, it was just some more small batch craft beer. I thought the best of the offering was the Downtown Brown Ale which was to be brewed with cinnamon. I didn’t pick up much cinnamon but found it to be palatable enough to have a few pints as I watched people on the boardwalk. Overall, I liked Shore Billy. They fill a nice niche on the boardwalk and get points for trying something new. I hope (expect) as the place grows a following and earns some stripes the beers may also become better. Also, I hope as they grow they experiment more and add something that will truly excite the hardcore craft brew fan instead of playing it safe with their selections. For what it is, stop by Shore Billy, grab a pint of Downtown Brown, enjoy the weather and have a blast people watching! I could think of worst things to do while visiting Ocean City!
Thanks for reading about our beer trip to Ocean City! I hope maybe I’ve persuaded some folks to go try Burly Oak or Shore Billy the next time you’re downyoshun. I had a lot of fun going to sample these breweries and really enjoyed seeing how what I’m currently doing on a small scale gets enlarged in the commercial brewing arena. A lot of things to think about. I also like getting out to see the beer industry function, the brewers, the drinkers and the interaction. I think you’ll be seeing more content like this as we get out and explore breweries and the industry we’d ultimately like operate within.
Until next time, cheers!
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