The District Part Deux

Well, technically Frederick, MD. After the work day, I headed north on I-270 for the 4+ hour trip home. Now that time estimate doesn't account for traffic. So after battling Friday DC traffic to Frederick, I was rather hungry. Luckily, Frederick is the home of two brew pubs, Barley and Hops and Brewer's Alley (and some other breweries, like Flying Dog). I chose to have dinner at the former. Now I have almost stopped in here what must be a half dozen or times or so. When I would be working in Frederick, I stayed directly across the street, but for some unknown reason decided to patronize the Houlihan's directly in front of the hotel than the brewpub across the street. So this time through, I decided to finally try it.

The brewpub is classic American decor - a wide open, warehouse-esque room with beer-related paraphernalia throughout. I took a seat at the corner of the bar and ordered a sampler and an order of wings. The sampler was 6 brews, 2 oz. each, which was nice because you could drink it and still have a pint and not be 5 beers in, but it only gave you a few sips to judge the beer. Now I've rated beer from less, so I was cool with it. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the beers. The Annapolis Rocks Pale Ale was the best offering (great malt and hop balance) and the Tuscadora Red was solid (caramel and chocolate notes). The service was fantastic - definitely top notch. You could tell that the regulars were there as much for Chelsea's service as the food and beer. The food was pretty standard, but then again I did only have the the wings, so don't take my word for it.

I would definitely recommend stopping in for a pint when in the area. Nothing off the charts, but a great little local brewpub with some good offerings.

Cheers,

Dave