2.9 🍺 above average
Gettin’ Down on the Farm
In 2012, a group of farmers and brewers led by hop grower Tom Barse of Stillpoint Farm, maltster Greg Clabaugh of Amber Fields, and brewer Tom Flores of Monocacy Brewing met with state delegate Kelly Schulz to draft legislation that would permit Maryland farmers to brew and sell beer. The following year, Barse received the state’s first Class 8 Farm Brewing License and opened a tasting room in June. Twenty-one Maryland farm breweries would eventually follow, but Milkhouse Brewery at Stillpoint Farm remains the benchmark for brewing beer on a Maryland farm.
Barse had been homebrewing since before it was legal. So when he and his wife Carolann McConaughy bought their farm in 2008, it was a given that one of their crops would be hops. Barse also tried his hand at raising bees for honey to flavor his beers. But at a time when bee populations were plummeting from disease, craft breweries were flourishing. With the passage of Maryland’s Farm Brewery law, Barse saw an opportunity to go pro.
Barse and his wife named their farm after the “stillpoint” described in a T.S. Eliot poem, where “past and future are gathered, neither movement from nor towards, neither ascent nor decline,” a timelessness that is reflected in Barse’s brewing philosophy: “It’s an old-fashioned brewery where we make plain beers with local ingredients.”
Of the 16 beers on tap during a late September visit, all but four were made entirely from Maryland-grown ingredients. Barse grows Chinook, Cascade, Brewer’s Gold, and indigenous Monocacy hops on his acre of bines. Malt is supplied by Maryland maltsters like Bear Branch Malt in Westminster, Chesapeake Malting in Havre de Grace, and Dark Cloud Malthouse in western Howard County. Honey comes from nearby Carroll County; lavender and chamomile for spiced beers is grown just down the road from Stillpoint. The farm’s cows dispose of the brewery’s spent grains and McConaughy’s Leicester Long Wool Sheep help keep the hop bines free of weeds. It’s a model of self-sufficiency and sustainability.
Situated atop the farm’s highest hill, with a commanding view of the rolling farmland surrounding it, the Milkhouse tasting room could be described as either a large shed or a small barn. It houses the brewhouse and features a small bar and half a dozen tables plus a corner nook (“the Church”) comprised of two pews salvaged from a former Methodist Church in Mt. Airy. An airy foyer features a mini art gallery and a Little Free Library. From the grooved knotty pine paneling to the tables and bar made from aged barn wood, every inch of the tasting room exudes cozy comfort and craftsmanship. But, depending on the weather, most patrons will be sitting outside enjoying the expansive, unspoiled perspective from either of two patios or a covered pavilion. Inside or out, a relaxed, a genial vibe prevails, epitomized by the roving presence of Barse himself, welcoming guests, answering questions, and helping out wherever needed.
The brewery still offers a tray of six 5-ounce samplers, and it’s a good way to experience the breadth and quality of the beers crafted by current brewer Ray Simmons. You’ll find virtually all of the classic English and German styles flowing from the taphouse’s 16 taps plus quite a few that may surprise you, like a California common, or “steam beer,” flavored with chestnuts; a super light but distinctively flavored farmhouse ale fermented with a Trappist yeast; a Brett-conditioned red ale with four years of aging; a rich, malty rye bock; and a maize-based Chicha Jora lager made with all Peruvian ingredients—and, in a small departure from tradition, no human saliva. What you won’t find are any hazies or fruited sours—an act of hari-kari for any other brewery, but totally in keeping with Barse’s vision of simple beers made from local ingredients.
The adherence to local ingredients has some drawbacks. The Oktoberfest (6% ABV), which might have been a bit green, was lacking in malt character, a kölsch (5%) was somewhat phenolic, and the Goldie’s Best Bitter—lacking the usual English malts or hops—verged on bland. And yet, Goldie’s Humidora (4%), a cask version of the bitter aged on Spanish cedar, displayed a bright hop character devoid of the astringency that often accompanies flavorful low-gravity beers. Homestead (6%) was a vibrantly flavored hefeweizen. And both the Green Farmer Pale Ale #27 (5.5%), made with local rye and Nugget hops, and the West Coast-style Stairway IPA (7.2%), hopped with locally grown Cascades, were brimming with fresh hop flavor that exhibited a distinctive Maryland terroir. The tasting room also serves red and white wines made from grapes grown in Frederick County, a hard cider from Pub Dog of Westminster, and NA beers from Athletic Brewing Co.
Situated next to the tasting room is the Mercantile, a retail outlet for agricultural products from Stillpoint and other local producers. You’ll find beef, lamb, honey, and yarn and wool products from Stillpoint Farm; sheep cheese and sheep milk soap from Shepherd’s Manor of Westminster; fresh seasonal produce from Greener Pastures Farm of Westminster, Pleasant Hill Produce of Mt. Pleasant, and Maryland Microgreens of Monrovia; whole ducks and duck eggs from Maryland Duck Co.; yarns and fiber products from Angel Locks of Westminster; handmade dog collars and leashes and other leather goods from Rabid Llama Creations of Taneytown; and, of course, pint bottles of Milkhouse beers.
The taphouse is only open Thursday through Sunday, but nearly every weekend offers the kind of special events you just won’t find at other taphouses. Like the annual Minifest on the Farm: a beer festival (remember those?) with a host of guest breweries pouring their wares, Stillpoint burgers and lamb sausage on the grill, and live music all day long; Rick’s Run, a 5-mile trail run which traverses most of the farm’s 47 acres and benefits the Frederick Steeplechasers Memorial Scholarship Fund; Star Gazing @ The Farm, guided by the Westminster Astronomical Society; monthly crab feasts in the summer; live music every Saturday; and this fall, Milkhouse is hosting the first Maryland American Chestnut Festival, featuring buckets of the iconic nut roasting on open fires and a seasonal chestnut beer brewed by Milkhouse.
Little wonder that Milkhouse is one of Maryland’s ten most popular taphouses. Perhaps no other brewery offers a more immersive farm-to-glass experience that makes the concepts of local sourcing, integrated production, sustainability, and terroir as tangible as the glass of beer in your hand.
MILKHOUSE BREWERY
8253 Dollyhyde Rd.
Mount Airy, MD 21771
OPEN
Friday: 3 – 8 pm
Saturday: 1 – 8 pm
Sunday: 1 – 6 pm
NUMBER OF TAPS
16
AVERAGE ABV
5.3%
SPECIALTIES
Beer Engine
OTHER DRINKS
Red and white wine
Cider from Pub Dog
NA beer from Athletic
FOOD
Food trucks throughout weekend
PARKING
Abundant parking in field next to tasting room