I celebrated Maryland Craft Beer Lover’s Month — FeBREWary — at Love Thy Beer, a Winter Warmer Showcase.  This was the signature event of the Brewers Association of Maryland’s month-long celebration of Maryland brew. And there is much to celebrate!

Maryland brewers showed off their winter ales, sours, small batch brews, and much more, alongside food provided by Mission BBQ, to the soundtrack of live blues music.

The event started with a VIP pre-reception featuring the signature “Cupid’s Curse” brews specially crafted for FeBREWary by each attending brewery. The Brewers Association challenged the Maryland breweries to craft a unique beer called “Cupid’s Curse” and it was fun to try all the crazily-concocted brews made for the challenge.

Even better was the chance to try new Maryland breweries and revisit old favorites. I made the most of my time at the celebration, sampling 29 beers from 19 breweries.

My hit list, organized by familiarity:

Nice to Meet You

I was impressed by my introduction to these new Maryland breweries.

Brookeville Beer Farm, Brookeville, MD

• Kranpus, a Brown Ale brewed with cranberries and oranges (5.35)

Greenspring Brewing Company, Chesapeake Beach, MD

• DZ Bock
• Pound Foolish IPA

Milkhouse Brewery, Mt Airy, MD

• Green Farmer Pale Ale (5.5%)
• Red Eye Porter (5.5%)

Olde Mother Brewing, Frederick, MD

• Tainted Love, a Porter brewed with fresh raspberries (6.5%)
• Star Struck, an IPA (6.7%)

Smoketown Brewing Station, Brunswick, MD

• Wicked Threesome, a Belgian Tripel (8.4%)
• Potomac IPA (7.4%)

Great to See You Again

These are the breweries I’ve tried a few times and am anxious to get to know better!

Full Tilt Brewing, Baltimore, MD

• Cupid’s Curse Baltimore Pale Ale, served from a Firkin
• Port of Baltimore, a Coconut Porter (6.5%)

Manor Hill Brewing, Ellicott City, MD

• Latte Milk Stout (7.0%)

Monocacy Brewing Company, Frederick, MD

• MALK, an IPA

Mully’s Brewery, Prince Frederick, MD

• Winter Warmer, an Amber Ale brewed with raspberries (7.0%)

Ocean City Brewing Company, Ocean City, MD

• Cupid’s Curse Serendipity, a Strawberry Belgian Ale
• Elf, a “Honey Pomegranate Gingerbread Ale” (6.5%)

Peabody Heights Brewery, Baltimore, MD

• Double IPA

Waredaca Brewing Company, Gaithersburg, MD

• Cupid’s Curse, a Kettle-Soured Saison with rose hips (6.0%)

Old Favorites

My long-time favorite Maryland breweries:

Antietam Brewery, Hagerstown, MD

• Cupid’s Curse, a Chocolate Raspberry Stout (6.0%)
• Freedom Porter, a Coffee Porter (5.4%)

Denizens Brewing Company, Silver Spring, MD

• Cupid’s Curse, a Brett Porter (6.5%)

DuClaw Brewing Company, Bel Air, MD

• Hop Hammer IPA (6.3%)

Evolution Craft Brewing Company, Salisbury, MD

• XO Stout, brewed with cherry puree and cocoa nibs (6.7%)
• Lot #6, a Double IPA on cask with cascade hops and nugget hop oil added (8.5%)
• Nouveau Rouge, a Sour Beer

Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD

• Salt and Pepper Tripel, brewed with Pink Himalayan Sea Salt and Black Peppercorns (8.2%)
• Cherry Porter, a Bourban Aged Imperial Stout brewed with sweet and tart cherries (8.4%)

Jailbreak Brewing Company, Laurel, MD

• Van Dammit, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale (9.1%)

Oliver Brewing Company, Baltimore, MD

• Hot Monkey Love, a Bourbon Barrel Aged Barley Wine (11.5%)

And Where Were You?

The Brewer’s Art, Franklins Brewery, RAR, Union Craft Brewing – you have to be there to beer there!

Sure, there were a few notable no-shows, but were they missed? I’m not so sure — I was too busy trying five new Maryland breweries for the first time!