With new craft breweries popping up on a daily basis, it’s important for each and every one to stand out. Eastern Shore Brewing in St. Michaels, Md. believes it has what it takes.

St. Michaels is a harbor town with a rich history of sailing, shipbuilding and more, attracting visitors from all over the United States. With nautical themed brews like ‘Knot So Pale Ale,’ it’s evident Eastern Shore Brewing is in the right place.

The small town brewery is located in the historic Old Mill and is known as the oldest continually operating brewery on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Adrian Moritz, owner of Eastern Shore Brewing, says his favorite part of business is…the beer.

“The beer—it’s got to be the beer,” Moritz says. “…and the dress code is pretty good too! And my co-workers…and the beer!”

It’s clear he loves it all.

The brewery offers ‘Year Rounders,’ ‘6 Month Seasonals,’ and ‘Rotators.’

In the ‘Year Rounders’ category, guests can enjoy St. Michaels Ale, a full bodied amber ale with malty/toasty notes balanced with a touch of American hops, Knot So Pale Ale, an Extra Pale Ale, and lastly, Situation Critical, a West coast IPA with lots of hops, featuring grapefruit and pine flavors.

The ‘6 Month Seasonals’ category offers the Duck Duck Goose Porter, a porter with great hints of coffee and chocolate, from September until April, and Magic Hefeweizen, a hefeweizen with clove, banana and citrus notes, from April until September. Although just these two are on the list, don’t be surprised if more pop up throughout the year.

Lastly, the ‘Rotators’ category includes Rye Not Pale Ale, a pale ale made with Dr. Rudy hops from NZ and a touch of local Rye, El PePe Mexican Lager, a traditional Vienna lager, and 12 Gauge An American Stout, a big, roasty and malty stout.

Out of the options listed above, Moritz says he always prefers a good seasonal.

“Right now I’m drinking Back Creek Blonde,” Moritz says. “The seasonals come out and they go away really quickly so we try to drink them while they are still here.”

Moritz says St. Michaels is a great fit for the brewery because, why not? When Eastern Shore Brewery opened up there were no other breweries on the Eastern Shore.

“It seemed like a really good fit in a town that has a huge tourism industry that is mostly couples driven—while the women would go to the winery predominantly, the men would come over here,” Moritz says. “That has kind of turned on its nose a little bit. A lot of locals come in here. We’ve turned a lot of watermen who drink 10 ounce Budweisers onto craft beer.”

With a brewery, winery and distillery in town, St. Michaels has it all. Moritz says he can’t think of anywhere else he would like to run his business. He hopes his passion for the craft and the town will rub off on his young daughter.

“We call her the ‘Hops Heiress,” Moritz says. “We’re trying to teach her from the ground up. She comes here from school, she’ll play a little air hockey, might bus a little tables and we teach her how to count backwards out of the register, the good stuff you don’t learn anymore.”

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Adrian Moritz spends quality time with his daughter, the ‘Hops Heiress’ (Photo: Lauren Hitch, WBOC)

As if the good brews and family atmosphere aren’t enough, the brewery is dog friendly.

“We have a great time, it’s eclectic, everybody’s welcome. The beers are very traditional, we don’t do anything that is crazy, out-of-the-box, we like to please everybody. We love our beer and we love our customers.”

All of Eastern Shore Brewing’s beer is brewed on the premises by brewmaster Zach Milash, who is always striving for the perfect pint.

Check it out:

Eastern Shore Brewing

Address: 605 S Talbot St, St Michaels, MD 21663

Phone:(410) 745-8010