After months of anticipation, Taneytown’s Brewery Fire taproom opened its doors Friday afternoon, and the new pub in the corner of the bowling alley building promptly filled with patrons ready to sample a pint and take in the sci-fi- and fantasy-inspired artwork on the walls.Brewing equipment
By 4 p.m., the line to the bar had backed people’s backsides against the glass front doors, more than 40 people filled the space inside, and owners Dave Palmer and Jesse Johnson were too swamped to talk as they worked the taps and took orders.
Brewery Fire is the latest in what had been a slow swell of craft breweries and pubs to open in Carroll County, from the pioneering “microbrewery” at Johannsson’s Dining House in Westminster that dates back to the 1990s, to the more recent additions of Pub Dog, also in Westminster, and the Ruhlman Brewing Co. farm brewery in Hampstead. But that swell is now cresting, with three other new breweries planning to open taproom locations in the next few months, from 1623 Brewing Company, which now plans to open in Eldersburg by late October, to Flood Zone in Union Bridge and Pipe the Side in Hampstead, both of which could be open by year’s end.
As local businesses, the brew pubs thrill Mike McMullin, president of the of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce.
“It’s good for tourism, for business, for the community. A great place to gather — the chamber loves supporting local businesses,” he said, though admitting extra pleasure at the Brewery Fire opening. “They were our Carroll Biz Challenge winner in 2018.”
It was a hard road from Biz Challenge to opening, Johnson expressed in an interview in late August, but his excitement was building ahead of the 13th.
“It’s like, holy cow, this is actually happening,” he said.
On Friday it really was happening, with customers tasting through the menu filled with brews inspired by sci-fi and fantasy, to match the decor — Palmer and Johnson are self-described “nerds” — like the Fool of a Took imperial stout, Executor IPA and Episode One Doesn’t Count pale ale. Those outside at the picnic tables out back could gaze at a massive wall mural that includes nods to “Dune,” “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Terminator.”
“We’ve been sitting here for 10 minutes calling stuff out,” said Alexis Mueller of Westminster. “It’s a nice conversational piece to get people talking.”
Mueller had been waiting for Brewery Fire to open, she said, and so Friday seemed like a good opportunity to check it out with some of her co-workers. It’s the type of place she said can appeal to younger professionals like herself in Carroll County.
“I think it’s something that gives the young generation, new generation, our generation, something to go to,” she said. “That’s what we are: We’re not an Applebee’s bar type of people.”
That being said, it wasn’t just young professionals who came out for Brewery Fire’s first afternoon.
“There are 444 houses in Carroll Vista. We were the first ones in the door, that’s how these old people are,” said Carol Palmer, a resident of the 55-plus Carroll Vista community who sat inside with table full of other residents. “We need this. You know Flick’s is the only game in town to get a beer.”