August 2019
The Bull and Goat Brewery, Cult Classic Brewery
We were sad to be leaving the Rehoboth area after a lovely week spending time with family and having lots of fun beery adventures. Of course, our journey to Baltimore would not have been complete without a couple of beer-visits en route, and I must, once again, thank our brilliant de facto brewery guide Chris Hansen @esdude67 for not only recommending the fantastic Bull and Goat Brewery in Centreville MD but also treating us to a flight – what a wonderful welcome, we felt thoroughly spoilt! Centreville is a pretty, historic town about an hour’s drive from Rehoboth along charming country roads winding through the Delaware-Maryland cornfields. Centreville has a lovely old town square, the centrepiece of which is the Queen Anne’s Courthouse – the oldest courthouse in continuous use in the state of Maryland, which was completed in 1796, and the Bull and Goat’s cosy, rustic taproom is just a few streets away.
We often have the most fun at local community taprooms in small, friendly towns, and the Bull and Goat was no exception. We were delighted to find that our arrival was expected (I felt a bit like a celebrity – this doesn’t happen often!) and were soon happily chatting away with the sociable folks at the bar and petting their adorable dog! Our flight was an absolute winner. The Clay Davis Nitro Porter was delicious, fluffy rum-n-raisin – incredibly moreish stuff, and the smooth, malty Baba Yaga DIPA was boozy golden nectar. We also enjoyed the fruity, woody The Bloke IPA and Summer Crush Saison beer-cocktail – perfect for a balmy dusk. It was indeed a beautiful warm evening – ideal for soaking up the sun on the Bull and Goat’s cute deck, and we really did not want to leave! Sadly, we were pressed for time, but we will certainly be back the next time we are in the Rehoboth area – both the beers and the ambience make the Bull and Goat a local treasure. http://bullandgoatbrewery.com/
Despite the lateness of the hour, we squeezed in a very quick stop at Kent Island’s Cult Classic Brewing. This dark, cavernous music venue is absolutely huge inside with a long chrome bar along the back wall and icy air-conditioning that most ATX music venues would benefit from! They have a substantial beer list – 14 of their own beers to choose from when we visited, and a good range of styles including a Red Ale, Porter, Witbier and Strong Ale. We sat outside to enjoy a glorious glowing sunset, and our flight was also most pleasing. The Hazy Mosaic Burst IPA was particularly impressive – while it wasn’t actually hazy, it was far superior to most hazy IPAs and the double-whirlpool-hopping plus double-dry-hopping brought out so much punchy, bold Mosaic flavour – excellent. I also enjoyed the dank, piney Birthday IPA and the sweet, dried-fruit-forward Barleywine.
I’m not really sure why I ordered the Strawberry Blonde as it’s not one of my usual styles but I was surprised to rather like it – the strawberry was clean and fresh and not at all synthetic, and it was even served with a little wedge on the glass – lovely. We also had some really tasty (if a bit expensive) deep fried cheese curds, which have to be among the best beer snacks ever. Someone in ATX, please take note. While Cult Classic may not be the most atmospheric of venues, I would recommend the beers and it makes a good pit stop en route across the water. We left just in time to catch the best of the sunset over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and then on, on to Baltimore! https://cultclassicbrewing.com/
Craft Beer Amethyst 