Chesepiooc Real Ale Brewery (CRAB) is a small brewery tucked neatly between Washington, DC, and Annapolis in Crofton, MD. Chesepiooc (pronounced “chess-uh-pee-auck”) is not used in many conversations these days. It comes from the Algonquian language, meaning “village at a big river.” Joe Esposito founded the brewery about six years ago (Feb 2018) with the idea of being intentionally small in size but large in beer and community.

Nate Todd opened The Other One Brewery in Ocean City MD in 2023. Beginning with a homebrewing kit resulted in a deep passion for brewing. He served as head brewer at Backshore Brewing here for that operation's last two years, and wound up purchasing much of Backshore's equipment when the company closed in November 2021.

Upper Stem Brewery is a licensed farm brewery in Washington County, just northeast of Hagerstown, MD. In April 2020, as the world grappled with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dan Winger decided to launch his brewery, a risky move given the uncertain times. Yet, they navigated the challenging waters through ingenuity and a small canning operation, providing curbside delivery that kept the dream alive.

In early March 2024, I visited the 1812 Brewery outside Cumberland, Maryland. I'd heard about the brewery from local friends and had hoped to visit myself, but the timing was never right. So, when traveling to western Maryland for a friend’s retirement party, I asked if I could stop by and learn more about the brewery and its people, and they welcomed our meeting.

I began writing this during chilly November 2023, then added some edits while watching the daffodils blooming in March. And now it’s June and warmer temps. Where does the time go? I have been working on some other writing projects, and I have not brought this one to a conclusion. These are a few thoughts about my writing for this year and how it relates to my relationship with beer, travel, and life.

Craft breweries have to navigate local laws from county and city jurisdictions, and an unfavorable business climate which puts Maryland at a disadvantage when competing with neighboring states and simply keeping the lights on.