Location! Location! Location! is a cliché rarely associated with the modern taphouse. Most are located in remote industrial parks where the rent is cheap and the parking is abundant, or in former urban wastelands where it is not wise to drink too much or stay too late. The taphouse for the Idiom Brewing Co. defies those stereotypes with a nifty venue that is centrally located, pedestrian friendly, and convenient to shops and restaurants.
Idiom can be found just 2½ blocks from the epicenter of downtown Frederick on East Patrick St., the city’s central east-west thoroughfare. A century ago, before light industries were sequestered in “parks,” this part of Frederick was, in fact, an industrial zone, where a factory along Carroll Creek made women’s hosiery and men’s shirts before closing in 1959. In 2016, the seven interconnected buildings of the Union Knitting Mills were restored and redeveloped for new tenants including Idiom. The mill’s original masonry comprises the inner and exterior walls of the taphouse, and the floor-to-ceiling windows that once illuminated the work of seamstresses now greet customers to the taphouse. The historical ambiance is both spacious and cozy—and immensely welcoming.
If that isn’t inviting enough, Idiom’s dog-friendly outdoor patio overlooks Carroll Creek, a canal-like waterway that descends from the Blue Ridge and flows through the most scenic sections of Frederick before joining the Monocacy River on the east side of town. From this creekside vantage, customers can see many of the church steeples that define the “City of Clustered Spires” skyline and the hulking presence of Catoctin Mountain at the edge of the city. A really nice spot to enjoy a beer.
Inside, an intimate L-shaped bar abuts the brewhouse and frames the main seating area. An adjoining auxiliary bar accommodates overflow and hosts musical guests and special events. The brewery opened a kitchen in March 2024. “Expressions at Idiom” serves pizza, sandwiches, salads, and snacks. It has also allowed the taphouse to add wine and mixed drinks to its menu. But it’s the quality of the beer that has helped Idiom earn a spot in Maryland’s Top Ten Taphouses.
Idiom, and its beer, is the creation of Michael Clements, an IT specialist, formerly of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. After a transformative encounter with the Portland, Oregon, brewing scene, Clements returned to Maryland and began “homebrewing every weekend” for ten years before opening Idiom in February 2019, one of a half-dozen craft breweries that ushered in Frederick’s craft brewing renaissance in the later half of the 2010s. Idiom got off to a fast start, built a loyal customer base, and was already canning its beer by the time covid struck. That spring, Clements joined Other Half Brewing’s “All Together” initiative to assist hospitality and brewery workers during the pandemic. Idiom donated 50% of the proceeds from an Idiom/Other Half collaborative IPA and 100% of commemorative glass sales to Frederick breweries unable to branch into package sales.
Idiom’s original focus was on ales and English-style beers, but the brewery quickly diversified into the wide selection of the lagers, sours, wheat beers, and stouts that now comprise its 14 rotating taps. In keeping with its name, most of its beers are typically drawn from idiomatic expressions like “Black Sheep,” “Down the Hatch,” and “Three Ring Circus.”
Like nearly all craft brewers, Idiom has entered a period of belt-tightening and consolidation in wake of the recent downturn in craft beer sales. In late March, 2025, the brewery announced the closure of its production facility and the relocation of all brewing operations back to its taproom. While reducing its distribution footprint, this move allows Idiom to refocus on its strengths—and they are many. Certainly enough to ensure that Idiom will be one of the survivors of the ongoing brewery shakeout.