Sowing the Seeds of Success with Burley Oak Brewing Company

Shane Carley

Brewery Name: Burley Oak Brewing Company
Type of Brewery: Retail Brewery

Location: 10016 Old Ocean City Blvd, Berlin, MD 21811. Not far from the highway and just 15 minutes from the beaches of Ocean City.

Website: http://www.burleyoak.com/
Facebook: Burley Oak Brewing Company
Twitter: @BurleyOak
Instagram: @burleyoak

Background: Every year, Pete, York, and I take a trip to Ocean City, MD with a few friends from college. Since Together We Drink launched just a few months ago, we knew we wanted to make it a priority to visit a few breweries in the area this year. We knew about Backshore, Assawoman Bay, and Ocean City Brewing Company, but we were pleased to learn that there was a great brewery with a huge following just 15 minutes up the road. In fact, when I stopped into Liars’ Bench to pick up a growler for the road, the guy sitting next to me at the bar excitedly recommended Burley Oak and revealed that he was considering making the 10 hour drive overnight for a recent beer release. With a recommendation like that, it was impossible not to make Burley Oak a priority for the trip.

Growlers: Yes. They offer both growlers and crowlers and will happily fill any screw-top growlers that you may have. ​

The Beers: Burley Oak had a wide variety of beers on tap, and I did my best to try as many as I could. I also took two growlers with me, as well as a couple of bottles. Burley Oak makes a hibiscus wheat beer, which they then aged in wine barrels. One version is aged in red wine barrels, the other in white. Needless to say, I had to grab both.
​

• Sorry Chicky - Dry-Hopped Sour - Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. I actually had this beer at the very first restaurant we stopped at after arriving in Ocean City, and I was blown away by it. Fantastic sour. Even with a finish that is a little bit wheatier than I usually prefer, it’s impossible not to be impressed by the amount of flavor they have imparted here. Plus, the can art is amazing. I took a growler of this one home with me.
  
  
• Summer Eclipse - Sessionable Dark Sour - I’m not sure I’ve ever seen all of those words come together to describe a beer. Summer Eclipse is pretty cool. It’s got a good amount of sourness on the nose, and the back end of the beer closes on an almost toasty note. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything quite like it.
  
  
• Mo’ Brett Mosaic - Dry-Hopped Brett Pale Ale - If not for the Sorry Chicky, this would probably have been my favorite beer. I didn’t get a TON of the Brett flavor, but I definitely got the Mosaic. Wave after wave of dry-hopped goodness. Drinks really, really smooth.
  
  
• Aboriginal Gangster - IPA - I’m really impressed by Burley Oak’s dedication to brewing a wide variety of beers. At a time when breweries have a tendency to get bogged down in 100 different IPA variations, Burley Oak had just the one IPA on tap (that said, I would have loved to try their DIPA--alas! It was sold out everywhere!). Aboriginal Gangster is a solid, classic interpretation of an IPA. A little bit of citrus, a little bit of bitterness. Entirely drinkable and plenty delicious.
  
  
• Fruits of Our Labor - Fruit Sour Ale - I’ll condense this, because Burley Oak actually had four Fruits of Our Labor variants on tap: Prickly Pear, Passion Fruit, Blueberry, and Kiwi. All were delicious. All had the perfect amount of fruit flavor in them. The dark red coloration of the Prickly Pear version threw me for a loop in the best way. But to me, easily the tastiest version was the Kiwi. Had I been able to, I would have taken a growler of the Kiwi home with me.
  ​
  
• High Whhheat Aged in White Wine Barrels - Wheat Ale - Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a huge fan of wheat beers. They just aren’t my style. But when I saw the opportunity to compare these two beers, it was just too good to pass up. And the results are pretty tasty! The smallest amount of white grape flavor creeps into this beer, and the added sweetness really tamps down that wheaty flavor that I typically don’t love. Really solid.
  
  
• High Whhheat Aged in Red Wine Barrels - Wheat Ale - I prefer red wine to white wine, so I wasn’t shocked that this was my favorite of the two. I was actually a little surprised how close in color these beers were--I expected the red wine version to be significantly darker. No matter. The red wine flavor muffles the flavor of the wheat in an even more enjoyable way than the white, and I think it actually plays off the overall flavor of the ale more smoothly. Both versions are delicious, but if I had to pick one, this is it.

Vibe: Before I get into it, a slight disclaimer: we visited Burley Oak on our way out of town, which happened to be just as they opened on Monday. Understandably, not a ton of people were hanging out at the brewery before noon on Labor Day. I’m sure there are plenty of times (especially when they have live music playing!) when the brewery is absolutely hopping--but, sadly, we didn’t get to experience that.

All that said, the brewery is awesome. Burley Oak has a really, really cool space. They sit in a gorgeous wooden building with a cool rustic interior. The tap list is a chalkboard, they have cool wooden shelving where their merch sits, and they even have paintings on the wall with bid sheets for customers who might like to purchase them. The bar is beautiful treated wood, and I almost feel bad putting a beer glass down on it.

The people there were great, too. Always willing to talk about their beer and tell us a little about the place. Like I said, I wish we had been able to be there when it was a little more crowded, because it would have been nice to be able to talk to some of the regulars. That said, we did see a few people come in for growler fills in the time we were there, and they all seemed to have a friendly, easy relationship with the people running the place.

We had originally planned to stop by on Saturday, since Burley Oak was planning a release of their Lost IPA that morning. Unfortunately, Burley Oak cancelled the release. When we talked to them about it, they told us that something had gone wrong during the brewing process, and while the beer was certainly still drinkable, they have a very firm rule against releasing anything less than their best. I love that philosophy. While we were definitely sad to not have the opportunity to try one of Burley Oak’s most beloved beers, it’s pretty tough to put a price on the fact that when Burley Oak puts their name on something, you know they’re proud of it. It’s hard to express how much we all respect that. Hopefully next year we’ll get another chance!

Dogs: Yep! Burley Oak has a big sign right on the door announcing that they welcome families and dogs. Just keep your dog leashed and you’ll just fine.

Price ($ to $$$$$): $$$. Growlers are about par for the course, and I was able to snag a couple of bottles that ran for about $13 apiece. Cans are fairly standard for a brewery of this caliber, and they’ll usually run you between $10 and $15 for a four pack or a six pack (depending on the release). Special releases are probably more pricey, but chances are if you’re waiting in line for a beer release you already know what you’re getting into.

Food: No, just bar snacks. For a couple of bucks, you can get chips, pretzels, or, somewhat perplexingly, "meat sticks." I can’t believe I forgot to ask what a meat stick is.

Final Thoughts: Amazing beer. Amazing atmosphere. Amazing people. And an amazing dedication to putting out the best beer possible. Any brewery that would rather take a financial hit than risk the trust that their customers have in them is an A+ brewery in my book. The wide variety of beers on tap at Burley Oak was impressive, and they have definitely carved out a great niche for themselves in the hearts and minds of Marylanders. When I heard someone raving about Burley Oak as far away as New Hampshire, I knew there was something special about the place. And I was right! Really looking forward to next year’s trip, and can’t wait to go back.

-- Shane

---

Don't forget to follow us on social media!

Facebook: Together We Drink
Twitter: @TogetherWeDrink
Instagram: @TogetherWeDrink
Untappd:​ Together We Drink