We've been in MD for quite a while now, almost 3 years. There are still SO many places we haven't seen. When I made my 101 in 1001 list, I decided I wanted to explore more of MD. I want to make sure we make the most of our time here.
On a whim, I decided to check out the tour schedule at Flying Dog. I guess someone canceled, because they had 4 spots available last Saturday! We love Flying Dog's beer, so we were both really excited. We grabbed up the tickets and invited another couple to go with us. What a great way to celebrate our anniversary! Much better than a typical dinner out!
Since our tour wasn't until 2:30, we decided to go to Frederick a little early to explore. We were hungry when we got there around 12:30, so we decided to grab a quick bite to eat. We saw a BBQ place called Black Hog and we had to try it. They have different styles of BBQ. Of course, we both got eastern NC style. It was really good, it just had too much pepper. Other than that, no complaints. After lunch, we walked around downtown for a little while. It's SO nice. I love little historic towns. I guess Frederick isn't so little, it feels small though. It was a gorgeous day, so there were lots of people out and about. We just walked around until it was time to drive over to Flying Dog. It was really relaxing and enjoyable!
We got to Flying Dog in time to look around the gift shop a little before the tour. They have kits that you can take home and brew. Pretty cool. It's a different kit each month. We didn't get one this time since we already have a kit we need to brew, but we may get one when they have my favorite! With the tour, you get a souvenir glass and 5 samples. We got to try 1 sample before the tour, then the rest after. It was a really good tour! We also got to try the beer at different stages. Of course, we've done this at home, but it's cool to be able to sample an unfinished version of beers you see in the store. We also learned that there will be 11 rarities released this year, which are limited release brews developed by some of the brewers. I guess I never realized they did this. Pretty cool!
This is their lab, I could work here! Haha. Although, it would be quite a commute and I'm pretty sure I don't want to take a pay cut.
Lots of bottles, I've never seen several of these!
After the tour, we just hung out a bit in the tasting room. Josh and Dave went to grab samples and ended up talking beer with several of the brewers who are responsible for some of the rarities we got to try. (The Pumpernickel IPA is delish!) While the guys talked beer, Theresa and I daydreamed about vacations and someday running our brewing business from the phone in some vacation destination. Haha. Fun times.
After the tour, we went to Barley and Hops for dinner. It's a pretty cool place. We stuffed our faces and chatted a bit before going home. It was a great double date. We'll definitely have to do it again sometime! I hope to do the tour again in the near future.
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