The first beer brewery in Prince George’s County is back, though you might not have even known it was gone. Earlier this year, the Calvert Brewing Company closed its doors after rent hikes at its brewery where Bowie meets Upper Marlboro drove the company out of business.
The problem is beer drinkers around the D.C. area weren’t ready to see it go.
In the last few weeks, the Calvert Brewing Company has given way to the Calvert Beer Company.
And if you find a six-pack, close scrutiny of the labels shows some subtle changes in the art work too. Those subtle changes are the results of Terry Hinds and her daughter Amanda not buying the company itself, just its intellectual property.
“We bought their recipes and we bought their labels and the rights to brew their beer,” Hinds said. “And we found someone that could brew it for us.”
The beer is still brewed in Maryland, but it’s no longer a Prince George’s County-brewed beer.
Instead, they do what’s known as contract brewing — paying to use someone else’s equipment instead of creating their own facility. And they’ve taken to social media — there’s still not a website yet — in the hopes that the fans of Calvert Brewing haven’t forgotten them.
“That was one of the reasons when we bought from Calvert their recipes. We said, ‘Hey, we want to use the social media and let people know this beer is still here,'” said Hinds. “It’s the same, people.”
Right now the core beers you’ll still find are the 7th State Lager, and IPAs known as “In My 64” and “Excellent Adventure.” Another popular beer called “Route 4 IPA,” which is known for being smoother and less bitter than a lot of other IPAs, is also back. And they’re constantly asking fans and customers what else they’d like to see.
But Hinds and her daughter are also getting questions. One of the questions they’re asked the most is about a new taphouse.
Hinds will never say never, but right now she admits, “It’s about the beer.”
“It would mean a lot of changes because we would have to change brewers and have our own brewery, and that’s what made Calvert go away originally,” she admitted. “So we’ll go in with a lot of caution. If we go that route.”
“We really just wanted to keep the beers going and keep them exactly the same and keep them good,” she added. “So we found a good brewer who could do it for us and went forward from there.”
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