Monocacy Brewing Company

Monocacy Brewing Company was our first brewery experience in the Frederick, Maryland area, and it did not disappoint! By the time we arrived, we were due for a beer. We had just finished a 4 mile hike up Cotactan Mountain. It was a beautiful day, but after sweating up the mountain, we felt that we earned some brews. Parking was easy and the building that housed this brewery was actually kind of pretty. We were excited to get to drinking. Monocacy has three standard beers offered year-round in the tasting room, as well as in bottles in your local craft beer store. While these beers were good, it was their one-offs that truly stimulated the palette. For example, there’s the unique combination presented by the Sour Black Ale, which combined a warm malty flavor and  a surprising, puckering sensation. Or perhaps you’re drawn to the Ghost of the Ice Cream Man, which offers notes of vanilla in a creamy stout (this beer is any dessert lover’s dream). You are bound to find a beer that fits your niche, with each one offering genuine flavor and a unique experience. We recommend getting a flight… not only do you get to try five beers of your choice, but it is only $5 (a better deal than a pint!) It is clear that this brewery is focused on crafting quality beer.

The easily accessible brewery is an old Ebert’s ice cream plant with plenty of room for expansion. We were lucky enough to get a private tour, but they also give tours to the general public on any Saturday at 12:15, 1:15, 2:15, and 3:15. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly, offering their expertise on the brews and production. Bonus points: You can enjoy your beer outside in the grassy picnic area, and participate in some “physical activity” AKA corn hole, while you day drink. Or maybe just catch some rays while you relax (like us). The tasting room is small and has limited seating – we were luck to snag a seat as someone was leaving. There aren’t any TVs, but their patrons are friendly and happy to chat. Unfortunately, the brewery doesn’t offer food and there aren’t any food trucks (womp womp). However, pups are welcome (at least at the time of our visit) and that’s always a huge plus in our books.

While we are not entirely familiar with the growler laws in the area, we were a little confused when we tried to get ours filled. First, we were told they didn’t have the set up to fill screw top growlers, but that didn’t make sense to us since most breweries just fill straight from the tap with a plastic hose. We thought NBD since we had a backup growler with a clasping top. They turned this one down, too, because it had another brewery’s logo. Wait, what? They told us they could only fill plain growlers without logos (like the ones they sold, of course). Maybe this is indeed the law, but we left feeling puzzled since other breweries in the area didn’t have an issue filling our growlers. [UPDATE: About a year later, we struck up a conversation with some folks at a different brewery. They said that Monocacy has gotten a little looser on these rules. If you’ve gotten a growler fill, let us know how your experience was!]

We’re trying not to let the growler experience leave a bad taste in our mouths. You see, we made a special trip back to the brewery to get growlers filled – a testament to how much we enjoyed their beer. It was a huge bummer to find out we wasted the trip. But all in all, the beer is good, and the staff are overall friendly (except the girl who gave us major growler sass…) So we still recommend stopping by if you are in the area. Plus, there are a lot of other nearby breweries and wineries you can check out in the same trip!

Original Date of Visit: October 29, 2016