Tag Archives: local brewery

Ocean Odyssey

16 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by in Beer, Fish, Food

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I have driven past it plenty of times over the years, but have never stopped. Recently, on their sign, I saw the words “Fish Tacos” and “Craft Brews”. Hmm… Fish and Beer. Not a chance I was going to drive past today.

The Ocean Odyssey is in Cambridge, Maryland, right on Route 50. They have been in business for 26 years; in fact their anniversary was this week. It is a small, unassuming place, but they take their beer seriously. They have an impressive selection of micros pouring from 9 taps, that rotate weekly. There is always something from Evolution and Dogfish Head flowing. No watered down swill here.

Fish Tacos

As their name implies, seafood is their specialty. I would like to try other things on the menu in the future, but will probably order the fish tacos again. Yes, they are that good. Ocean Odyssey is a seasonal place. They open in April and close in November. They are open 6 days a week and closed on Sunday.

 

Sundown At The Bay Bridge

26 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in Fish, The Bay

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Headed out with my buddy, Steve, to fish the eastern side of the Bay Bridge. We launched at G dock around 6pm or so, and paddled out to a pleasant southeast breeze and a decent incoming tide. Steve started in the shallow water and I paddled out to about 20′ or so. Lots of company. Several boats and at least 4 other kayakers. Action was slow. Almost non-existent, for me anyway.  Caught 1 rock that was just legal, and I threw him back.

19 and 20 inch rockfish

At 7:25 I got a text from Steve. It was a picture of a rockfish in his hand with the caption “only 17″. I didn’t respond. At 7:37, he sent me another text. This time it was a bigger rock in his hand and the caption “Ahh Keeper”. I still didn’t respond. At 7:57, yet another text/pic of a rockfish in hand with the caption “killing them”. At this point, since I was failing miserably to catch fish, I started paddling in his direction. I could see him in the distance, drifting away from the bridge. That meant he had another fish on. And, yet another text at 8:10. Picture of a rockfish and the caption “You ready to go in?” He had been pretty much bailing rockfish since he sent me the first text. For several minutes he had caught a fish on every cast. The sun had just hit the horizon and the bite was still hot. All of the fish were 17-21″, caught in 6-9′ of water. I seriously considered a topwater lure, but was not seeing any fish feed at the surface. We continued to catch until just before dark, and as usual, it was like someone flipped a switch. We each ended up taking home 2 nice fish.

After we got loaded up, back at the dock, we decided to see what Hemingway’s had on tap. A nice breeze out of the southeast and low humidity, made the downstairs bar quite pleasant. We topped off the evening with a couple of golden ales from 16 mile brewery. Ahhh…fish and beer.

An Introduction To Cask Conditioned Ale

08 Sunday Jul 2012

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Cask conditioning is a method of packaging and dispensing beer. This process was made famous and perfected by the British, prior to the advent of refrigeration and CO2 draft systems. After the primary fermentation is complete, the beer is put into a cask, sugar is added (primed), and the cask sealed. The ale is then allowed to sit for a few days at a warmish temperature. This enables a secondary fermentation to take place, resulting in the natural carbonation of the beer. The beer is then cooled to the low 50′s F.

Cask sitting on bar

To dispense, the cask can be placed directly on the bar and the beer poured out through a spigot, or it could be attached to a hand pump, also known as a beer engine. This device is clamped to the bar, and actually pumps the beer out of the cask, which is traditionally in the cellar. Alex Hall, of the Gotham Imbiber, wrote an excellent article on the process.

There are a few local bars that regularly serve cask ale, but because of its delicate nature and short shelf life, it is not always available. Pratt Street Alehouse and the Wharf Rat, both in Baltimore, almost always have cask ale. Max’s Taphouse and Metropolitan Coffee House and Wine bar, also in Baltimore, offer fresh casks every Thursday night. There are others, but they don’t seem to be as consistent as these four. Here is a link to help you find Cask Ale.

A pint of Flying Dog Imperial IPA in front of 5 hand pumps at Max’s Taphouse

There is plenty more to write on this subject, but in the meantime, I encourage you to seek out cask ale. Forget about any of the “warm and flat” nonsense that you may have heard and give it a try. Cheers!

 

 

 

 

16 Mile Brewing Company

20 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by in Beer

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Without a doubt, some of the best tasting beer you will ever drink comes from small, local brewers. In no particular order, I will eventually profile every brewery in the Chesapeake region. Here is the first of hopefully many posts about local breweries.

Fishing trips usually end with food and beer. Recently, my buddy, Steve, and I had the opportunity to try 16 Mile’s Blue’s Golden Ale on draft. After a long day on the water, it was just what the doctor ordered. I was pleased to find out it is brewed locally.

16 Mile Brewing Company  is located in Georgetown, Delaware, and is owned and operated by Delaware natives, Brett McCrea and Chad Campbell. Currently, 16 Mile has 5 year-round Ales and 1 seasonal. You can find 16 Mile in bottles and on draft, distributed throughout Delaware, Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Central Pennsylvania.

16 Mile welcomes visitors, where you can tour the brewery and sample the beer.

light and refreshing after a long day