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house standard beers ranging from a light lager to a 5.4% ABV porter, plus an always-on seasonal Belgian ale, several other seasonals, and about seventeen bottled reserves (including some vintage-dated beers). The house beers are acceptably solid, but the action for committed craft mavens is in those ever-changing offerings from month to month. The interior is sort of “modern library,” with reddish wood paneling and deep green walls beneath a vaulted modern Quonset hut ceiling. The menu reaches for a higher culinary plane than most brewpubs, too, with respectable results.

Maryland

Baltimore

ALEWIFE

21 N Eutaw Street • Baltimore, MD 21201 • (410) 545-5112 www.alewifebaltimore.com • Established: 2010

SCENE & STORY

Built in the glorious old Eutaw bank building in West Baltimore with handsome tile floors, soaring ceilings, art nouveau leaded glass windows, heavy Craftsman-looking chandeliers, and a spiral staircase leading to a high balcony, the home of Alewife had been sitting empty for a year after housing a tavern when woodworker-turned–bar manager Bryan Palombo and his business partner took on the challenge of overhauling the much-decayed space. The goal was to launch one of the best craft beer spots in the mid-Atlantic. “We walked in and we’re like, ‘Oh yeah: it’s a beer hall. It’s perfect. Let’s do it.’ We got this place ready in five weeks. It was record-breaking. Everything was broken,” recalls Palombo. The result? Bulls-eye. With an ambitious menu of pub grub (try the artery-clogging but oh-so-worth-it Smoked Burger and fries cooked in duck fat; $15) and a huge, ever changing list (40 taps, around 100 bottles), it’s certainly one of the best things going in Baltimore for the craft beer scene, and a nice, convivial environment for traveling beer lovers.

PHILOSOPHY

Initially, the goal was no compromise (“Find the best beer in the world—done!”) Palombo reports, but the reality check of one too many slow-moving beers has prompted a more down-to-earth list, though one that’s hardly plebeian.

KEY BEER

Often on tap, the herbal, drying, aromatic Belgian pale ale Zinnebir (Brasserie De La Senne; 6% ABV) would make a great accompaniment to the rich smoke burger and fries.

THE BREWER’S ART

1106 North Charles Street • Baltimore, MD 21201 (410) 547-9310 • www.thebrewersart.com • Established: 1996

SCENE & STORY

Built in an elegant old three-story Mt. Vernon area town house, the Brewers Art is easily one of the most famous brewpubs in the country, thanks to lakes of dedicated ink in the New York Times, Esquire, and scores of drink magazines. With all its hype one can be forgiven for worrying about a letdown, but the fact is that it’s a true original, well worth a special trip. However, do not show up on Friday at 7 p.m. and expect to waltz in—it’s extremely popular, and service varies from chipper and friendly to “And you are . . . ?” What you’ll find on arrival depends: upstairs, just above street level, there’s a bustling bar crowd in the front window crowded around a black-and-white Greek Revival bar area, beyond which is a mezzanine and finally a spacious seated dining room area. Downstairs the vibe is classic rathskeller, with a dimly lit horseshoe bar and alcoves for huddling over the well-crafted beers.

PHILOSOPHY

American-style Belgian café, no excuses. “They did not compromise from day one. They did not brew sh-tty beer just to stay with the masses,” says Thor Cheston, manager and beer sommelier of Washington D.C.’s Brasserie Beck. “I mean, with some of their beers like the Green Peppercorn Triple—when they first came out—people were like ‘What the h-ll are you thinking?’ But you know, it’s amazing. Their beers are phenomenal.”

KEY BEER

With four house ales, a cast of some twenty rotating seasonals, a strong international bottle list including a few lambics, and other new releases coming on line, there’s much to choose from. Resurrection, a sweet, malty Abbey style of 7% ABV, is the most popular beer, but it’s the Ozzy that stands out. Inspired by the classic Belgian pale ale