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.
Beer Diversity
The number of beers and variations on styles CRAB releases operating from its one-barrel system is impressive. For example, its Belgian National Day Celebration offered a dozen Belgian Styles on tap. For a Hefeweizen Fest, they had more than ten style variants. At Summer Sour Fest, they poured 15 sours. All theirs. They will have 29 taps open on any given day, including five beer engines pouring their British-style real (cask) ales.
Dan Frazier, head brewer at Chesepiooc Brewery
The Brewing Setup
Dan Frazier is their head brewer and says making this many styles is “fun stuff.” Their setup includes two 1-barrel boil kettles, ten 1-barrel fermenters, three 5-barrel fermenters, and a bright tank. As a small brewery, they can pivot quickly.
Chesepiooc cask ale
They have five flagship beers and rotate seasonal beers every few months.
Dan loves the brewery's guest brewer program, where customers can design and brew their own beer with him. They have a wall that displays for numberour guest brewers and the personal beer they helped congur and create.
Wall of Guest Brewers
Chesepiooc tap handles
They have some local distribution and crowlers-to-go, but no canning system yet. They offer cocktails and wine for non-beer enthusiasts and a variety of food trucks to satisfy patrons’ appetites.
Chesepiooc taproom
Cheers Affect
The “Cheers Affect” refers to the sitcom Cheers about a bar in Boston with affable staff and patrons. The theme song was “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”. Essentially, for a wider theme and carried forward, this is an environment where you know and care about your staff and customers, people know each other and people want to be there. That was how Chesipiooc seemed as I watched their regulars walk into the taproom. They were greeted as friends by the staff and folks sitting at the bar.
And, Chesepiooc is a family and dog-friendly taproom.
Buy a Hero a Beer Board
They have a pay-it-forward program where patrons can buy a beer for a kindred spirit, be it someone in the military, law enforcement, social worker, etc. Put a description on the card and it can be claimed by someone filling that description.
Chesepiooc offers a variety of tangential fun besides their beer. Check out their events calendar for Happy Hour Trivia, Karaoke, Darts, Cornhole, and Music Bingo.
The brewery and taproom is in a business park. Outside in front are tables and umbrellas, creating a comfortable space for people to meet with friends, catch up on email while enjoying a good beer.
Chesepiooc Real Ale Brewery
2408 Crofton Blvd
Crofton, MD 21114
410-630-1212
brewcrab.com
Facebook.com/BrewCrab
