Tuesday 27th of December 2011 09:44:28 PM

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DuClaw operates their main brewery in Abingdon MD, and has four taphouse satellite locations at Arundel Mills (Hanover), Bel Air, Bowie (Town Center Mall), and BWI Airport (Baltimore). I am very fond of DuClaw's product line. Their tamest beers are Bare Ass Blonde, Sawtooth Belgium White, Misfit Red, and Bad Moon Porter, and I would consider these just average. But things improve rapidly with Euphoria Brown (yum!), Exile Belgian, Old Flame, Venom Pale Ale, and seasonal Naked Fish Chocolate Raspberry Stout. Things get very complex and delicious with BlackJack Russian Imperial Stout (7.5%), Misery Wheat Wine (10%), and Serum Double IPA (9%). As if those big beers aren't enough, their offering culminates with Devil's Milk Barleywine (10.5%) and the perfectly bold Pax Nemesis Imperial Alt (11%). I highly recommend visiting for a sampler flight. The Bel Air location was the original brewpub starting in 1996, but the main brewery later moved to Abingdon. After suffering a fire, the Bel Air restaurant was rebuilt in 2007, and is a good place for a meal. It is located about halfway between Baltimore and Delaware, about 3 miles from I-95.

Sunday 30th of May 2010 08:54:46 AM

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Stopped in for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. They have an 11 beer sampler, 5 ounces each, for $16.50. I couldn’t do it so I settled for several tasters and a pint. I tried the Serum (Double IPA), Venom (Pale Ale), Old Flame (an old style dark amber ale) and one of the Exile series specialty brews (Imperial Chocolate Rye Porter). The chocolate rye was great; roasted chocolate malt flavor, coffee, and a hint of rye. I’ve had several of their other beers during a few trips to the Arundel Mills location. There is a dining area, a bar area, and an outside patio. The beer bar is in a shopping plaza so there is plenty of parking. There is smoking at the outside patio only. The service was great and the food was good. The server told us they no longer brew here, or any of the DuClaw pubs because Maryland law restricts brewing to one location and to a maximum of 10,000 barrels per year. Instead they opened a brewery and distribute to all their restaurants.

Friday 21st of December 2007 08:34:59 AM

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DuClaw’s Bel Air brewpub (and corporate offices) have been closed for over a year due to a small fire and lots of water. I had stopped in several times a few years back and am glad to see that it re-opened in September. The primary casualty of the fire seems to be on-site brewing but their main brewery is just a few miles down the road.
The rehabbed bar area includes a long comfortable “hockey stick” bar surrounded by tall tables and lots of flat screen TVs. The dining area has been renovated with a new layout featuring comfortable booth seating and tables in the former brewing area, plus a small outside patio for sunny days. There were at least 8 house brews on tap when I visited and I enjoyed both the Bad Moon Porter and the Black Jack (Imperial) Stout seasonal. The menu includes a good selection of pub fare and upscale entrees including prime beef and Chesapeake Bay seafood. There is ample free parking in the shopping area parking lot.