I got a message stating that Hysteria Brewing Company was scheduled to open in June, so I thought I’d swing by and check things out for myself.
I picked up my friend John and we headed out, but first, we stopped by Bulk Head Brewing and peeked in. Bulk Head is located off MD 108 in Columbia. The doors were all locked with no sign of activity inside. The taproom looks ready to open, with tables and chairs and a nice looking bar. I’m puzzled since their web page is down and Instagram and Facebook are quiet. Does anyone know the status of Bulk Head?
The doors were open at Hysteria so we walked in and met Vernon. He was kind enough to show us around even during his lunch break. The place looks great!
Although I am eager to see Hysteria open, it sounds like a June opening is very optimistic. A realistic, yet more vague opening date, is sometime this summer. They are still waiting for Howard County permits as well as gas and electric hookups. They have been making beer from their pilot system, but their production system is nearly ready to start-up.
We saw the Hysteria booth at the Maryland Craft Beer Festival. Vernon shared a great story about one of their beers. He had filled a keg the night before. The morning of the event, he discovered the keg was flat; the bright tank seal had come loose. So he hooked the keg to their tap system, pumping as much CO2 into it as possible. On the way to the festival, he sat in the back of the truck, shaking the keg to try to mix as much carbonation into the beer as possible. He said no one seemed to notice and the beer tasted just fine.
Besides the MD Craft Beer Festival, the folks at Hysteria have been keeping busy. Upcoming events include:
- HopAsana: Hysteria Sneak Peak and the Poolesville SpringFest both on May 20th,
- Craft Beer Tasting Series in Catonsville, MD at the Breadery on May 25th,
- Innovations and History of Brewing in MD in Laurel on June 9th,
- Also, July 26th is Hysteria Brewing Pint Night at Frisco Tap House in Columbia.
They even have a bourbon barrel stout – Grand Mother’s Milk – which was well received at the MD Craft Beer Festival. More barrels of this popular sweet stout are aging in the back.
I look forward to the grand opening of another Columbia, MD brewery. Meanwhile, I’ll keep you posted.
Cheers!
Warren