Franklins Restaurant, Brewery and General Store in Hyattsville, Maryland is one of my favorite brewery restaurants, period. The beer, food, atmosphere, and general store all work together to provide a great experience for the entire family.

That’s right, I said general store. Literally connected to the restaurant, just past the hostess stand, is a funky, old-time general store.  It’s part candy counter, part toy store, part gift shop, and part beer store — the selection in the beer cooler rivals any beer store in the region.

But forget the general store for a moment – the beer on tap is the reason to visit Franklins.

We celebrated Father’s Day with lunch at Franklins on June 20. I like brewpubs with a large selection of house beers, and Franklins always has at least 10 beers on tap. I ordered the sampler, which included:

• Bombshell Blonde (4%), Franklins lightest offering, an American blonde ale brewed for the local college students.
• Rubber Chicken Red (5%), an American Amber Ale
• Sierra Madre (5.5%), a West Coast-style Pale Ale
• Twisted Turtle Pale Ale (6%), an English-style Pale Ale
• Private IPA (6.5%), a deliciously hoppy IPA
• Biscuit de Miel (6.3%), a Belgian-style Pale Ale made with Buckwheat Honey; notes of fresh baked biscuits?
• Smoked Porter (5.5%), a smoky, sweet, roasty Porter
• Tripel Bliss (9%), a complex, strong Belgian Tripel – delicious!
• Van Damme (10.2%), a complex Belgian-style Strong Ale
• Sir Hop-a-Lot (8%), a delicious Double IPA

Alien Slime

Franklins’ beers tend to be hoppy, which is one of the reasons why I love it so much. But there are a number of stand-outs here, and not just the hop bombs. Beth enjoyed the biscuity Biscuit de Miel, and I thought the Belgian Tripel and Strong Ale were both excellent.

We also love the food at Franklins, but again, a big draw is the general store. If you like to visit brewpubs and you have kids, you’ll really know what I mean – do your kids ever get bored at restaurants while waiting for their food? At Franklins, a toy store is just steps away! While I enjoyed the beer sampler my kids explored the general store, returning to the table with jars of alien slime. It’s amazing how long alien slime can entertain 8-year-olds!

Franklins isn’t the easiest place for me to get to – down Route 1 through College Park, past the University of Maryland, and into Hyattsville…actually an odd place for a brewery restaurant. But every time we make the trek, I know it’s been worth it.