If you are a start-up brewery, a huge step of faith and confidence may be pouring your beer at the BCBF. This year, there were four breweries that did just that.
Baltimore Craft Beer Festival 2019, at the Canton Waterfront Park in Baltimore, MD.
The Baltimore Craft Beer Festival (BCBF) has grown significantly since its beginning in 2015. This is a premier showcase for Maryland breweries. If you want the breathe of what Maryland breweries are producing, this is the one event to attend each year. BCBF is a Brewers Association of Maryland (BAM) event held at the Canton Waterfront Park in downtown Baltimore.
Success manuals will tell you that if you want to be successful in your venture, you must take action. If you are a start-up brewery, a huge step of faith and confidence may be pouring your beer at the BCBF. This year, there were four breweries that did just that.
For this post in the Deep Beer Journal, I talk with Alfred Rotimi, the founder of Joy Hound Beer Company.
DB: Please, introduce yourself.
JH: I am Alfred Rotimi. I am the founder of Joy Hound Beer Company, a startup based in Baltimore. We were focused on delivering beers which are just very zesty, very fun, very approachable. Very true.
DB: Where are you located?
JH: So right now we're working with the DuClaw, using their facilities.
DB: Somewhere in the future, you want to open a taproom?
JH: Yes, where do you think that would be? Right now looking at Baltimore County, the Catonsville area. Obviously that's all very far away. I really looking all over Maryland. I'm ready to go anywhere, you know, whoever works out.
Alfred Rotimi, founder of Joy Hound Beer Company, a startup brewery based near Baltimore, MD.
DB: Is Catonsville home?
JH: No, I live in Howard County. I just thought it was a good area.
DB: What you're, you're a pouring here today?
JH: So today we're pouring a beer called Pinser. It's named after our iconic crab claws. It's a Belgian pale ale. It's 7.5 percent ABV. It's got 20 IBUs. It’s spiced with Indian coriander with that classic Belgian yeasty flavor and aroma on the nose and also and on the finish. With the taste, the first thing you get, it's dry which is typical for the Belgian pale ale style. It's crisp. It's refreshing. Is that a zest from the yeast, from the coriander and a little lift from the hops, too. It's kind of beautiful head and nice head retention because of oats and wheats used.
DB: So DuClaw is canning for you?
JH: We're not canning yet. Uh, hoping to can in the future. Right now we're just doing kegs. We're trying to get into cans.
DB: Where's your beer available?
JH: So, right now, we have taps at The Wine Bin in Ellicott City, Bobbies in Laurel also Dandelion Bistro in Gleneg, and also Surf House in Urbana near Frederick.
DB: What do you think makes your beer unique?
JH: Really, the thing that makes the beer unique is the brewer. We all have access to all of these ingredients and processes, but it's about how we combine them that makes them unique. So for my beer, Pincers specifically, what I love about this beer, what makes it unique is that you taste every element of the beer. So hops, malt, yeast, water, all those things are always incredibly important to every beer, but they're not always at the forefront. So for this where you really taste it all.
DB: What other beers are DuClaw brewing for you?
JH: So for right now this is our only one. I'm working on some stuff for the winter. It's mostly focused on trying to establish this beer brand before trying to push another.
DB: So you're getting good feedback from people from people at the festival?
JH: Yes, several people have come back for a second. The response today has been very good.
