Calvert Brewing Company

In the back of an industrial park in Upper Marlboro, MD, is Calvert Brewing Company. Finding it can be tricky due to minimal signage, which evidently is due to some strange county law that limits their advertising. The production facility and spotless tap room opened recently in 2016. They also have a farm and beer garden in Prince Frederick, MD, but we are saving that for another trip. FYI, the beer garden is co-located with Running Hare Vineyard, so you can also enjoy some wine during your visit! There is plenty of space in the tasting room with booths, high top tables, and a horseshoe shaped bar surrounded by stools. We have been to Calvert Brewing a few times, and in one of those visits, they easily fit our party of 12+. It’s not every day your friend, John, turns 27, why not celebrate with some craft beer?

We definitely noticed the staff making an effort to accommodate our large party. We tend to be a loud group, especially once the beer gets flowing. But they celebrated with us, and made sure we had an awesome experience. They even remembered me from my last visit. We were quite entertained during our visit since they had a number of board games, darts, and corn hole. They don’t serve food, but delivery is always an option. Plus, on the weekends there is fresh BBQ served right outside (it was delicious).

Calvert also offers tours, which some of our friends took part of. It’s a great chance to learn about the brewing process straight from the experts. It was nice to learn that Calvert focuses on a green brewing process, using minimal water and producing the least possible waste. The brewer even feeds the waste grains to his pigs. The brewing process is super fast (only 2 hours!) and they brew 17 barrels at a time.

Calvert Brewing Company has a number of year round beers, which they also sell in cans in the tasting room. Weird story: Before our visit, they had recently switched from bottles to cans. To get rid of their bottled beer, they put it on a super sale. We are suckers for cheap beer, and bought a few six packs of the Wye Rye. We really enjoyed the bottles of the rye, but oddly it tasted much different than Wye Rye in the cans and on draft. They mentioned that they changed their recipe… we prefer the old one.

They have quite the variety of beer, with something for everyone. Señor Besos Porter is quite exceptional. It tastes stronger than 7.1%, and it pleased the wine-drinkers in our party. If you have never been, I recommend checking to see if there is a Groupon available. For $22, you can get 2 tastings or pints and a 64 oz. growler. It’s a great way to try all their beers and pick your favorite to take home with you.

Calvert is a fun experience, and I would recommend it to all my friends and family. They like to have some fun by offering a chance for discounted brews with games like “flip fridays” and “beat the brewer”. When you decide to visit, check out the Jenga blocks. You might see a dare or two, courtesy of yours truly.