DuClaw Brewing Company in Baltimore, Maryland
The week before St Patrick’s Day I went down to Baltimore to do some regional beer exploration. To help plan my trip I used an online service called BeerMapping.com. The Baltimore beer map shows four brewpubs in the downtown area. My goal: to visit all of them. And I nearly succeeded; however, I missed The Brewer’s Art on 1106 N. Charles Street. Not that I didn’t try to go. I thought I would stroll up from downtown to have lunch at The Brewer’s Art. When I got there I learned that The Brewer’s Art isn’t open for lunch, duh. Monday through Saturday they open at 4 pm and open at 5 pm on Sundays. Dinner service begins at 5:30 pm. At least I have a reason to return to Baltimore in the near future.
Okay, now that I have that little confession out of the way, let’s talk about the brewpubs I did visit. I was staying down in the Fell’s Point area of Baltimore, just off the Inner Harbor. My hotel room faced the water so I had a commanding view of the harbor—docked sail boats on the near shore and industrial architecture across the water. The lower end of Fell’s Point is obviously undergoing a rejuvenation. There’s lots of construction and most of it appears to be high-rise housing. Fell’s Point looks like it’s going to be the place to live in Baltimore, especially if you like beer. A Fell’s Point address will get you within walking distance of three Baltimore brewpubs: DuClaw, Capitol City Brewing, and The Wharf Rat.
The closest brewpub to my hotel was DuClaw Brewing Company on 901 S. Bond St. DuClaw has four locations, this one located in the Bond Street Wharf building in Fell’s Point opened in July 2004. And it still looks brand, spanking new. The spacious entry way opens to the bar on the left and a roomy dining area on the right. The bar area open and well lit. The bar itself wraps around forming an elliptical island in the center of the bar area.
At the bar I tried first the seasonal Old Flame old ale. This is one of the most drinkable old ales I’ve had in a while. It’s certainly high in alcohol (7.5% ABV), but it drinks like a pale ale. It’s not overly bitter, but it’s pleasantly fruity and has caramel notes. Absent are the oxidized and lactic-sour notes that make the old ale style challenging to some palates.
Since I’m a sucker for Reds, I next ordered the Misfit Red, an amber ale hopped with Tettenang and Hallertau. This is an excellent drinking beer. A little lower in alcohol (5.1% ABV) than the Old Flame and a little less body, so technically I should have started with the Red and moved up to the Old Flame. However, the Misfit Red held it’s own, even as a follow-up act to a stronger beer. Probably because the hop bitterness contrasted with sweetness of the Old Flame.
At this point I was hungry so I moved into the dining area. Food is certainly available at the bar, but I wanted to experience the dining room. I was there on a Sunday night and the dining room was comparatively quieter than the bar. We nearly had the place to ourselves. The waitress for our table was extremely friendly and very helpful with the beers. She let me taste the Chocolate Raspberry Stout “Naked Fish” and the Venom, an American-style pale ale. I decided to have the Bad Moon Porter with my meal. Bad Moon is a robust porter. I really wanted to have a snifter of DuClaw’s Belgian “quadruple”—the bartender described it as “a desert wine that is beyond a barely wine”—clocking in a 14% ABV but that night I thought I should probably stop at three pints. Besides I had a whole week in Baltimore, I was certain I would make it back to DuClaw.
