While getting a little anxious to resume our travels, a bit of necessary pre-trip shopping brought us to the booming metropolis of Bel Air, Maryland.  It was a gloomy, raining day in Maryland, weather perfectly suiting a trip to the Bel Air shopping hubs, obviously one of our favorite places to visit.

After finishing the obligatory Target and Dollar Store stops (along with the one fun side-trip to our favorite, Old Navy), we were spent.  The half-hour drive back to Delta was looming, so we easily talked ourselves into an excursion to DuClaw Brewing Co.

DuClaws is a large chain-like brewery in Maryland, with four locations: Arundel Mills, Bel Air, Bowie and BWI Airport.  They feature 8 staple beers that are always on tap, plus a rotating menu of over 25 seasonal brews. 

On this trip we opted for the bar, and we were lucky enough to catch happy hour.  Actually, luck didn’t have much to do with it, as DuClaw is more than generous with their happy hour offerings.  Monday through Friday features reduced drink prices from 3 to 7, with the added bonus of all-day happy hour on Tuesdays, and an additional 10 to close happy time every Thursday.  Happy Hour at DuClaw features a nice selection of reduced price appetizers, $2 off on pints of brew, and reduced prices on wines and cocktails.  (Note: the BWI location does not offer happy hour.  Did you really expect it to?!)

An attentive bartender named Mike quickly greeted us and told us about the seasonal brews on tap.  For our first round, I jumped into a Black Lightening, a medium-bodied, 6.5% abv American Black Ale.  Kelly started out with a Bad Moon Porter, a full-bodied malty brew with a bit of chocolate and coffee, just what she needed for a foul-weather day. While nothing could be done for the weather, our foul moods were quickly assuaged, as both our brew choices were rich and delicious.

We started to get a bit hungry and turned our attention to the food selections. Plenty of choices caught our eye, but, as often is the case, we were drawn to the nachos.  In a perfect world, Kelly and I will go on a world tour of breweries, consuming nothing but beer and nachos.  We consider ourselves to be connoisseurs of the cheesy snacks, and are currently working on a scientific ranking system to more perfectly analyze each plate we encounter.

The nachos at DuClaw normally come with beef chili, which we requested on the side, as Kelly doesn’t eat beef.  This turned out to be a good move, giving me my own bowl of chili to accompany the snack.  I didn’t see an order of the dish served as it regularly comes, but I can’t help thinking I got the hook up on the chili, in a full, tasty soup bowl. The nachos themselves had a good layering of cheese, fresh vegetables, and a healthy serving of sour cream.  Without the benefit of our yet-to-come Nachometer, we graded the dish at DuClaw a solid B.

After we polished off our nachos, Kelly’s cousins who live nearby met us, so we got to stay and try another beer.  I went for the XX double IPA. At 9.6% abv it packs quite a punch, and the hops are no joke either.  A bit of a hop-head myself, I found this brew to be just about perfect.  Kelly tried Euphoria, a toffee nut-brown ale.  A light ale with a malty caramel flavor, it reminded Kelly of a cream soda, without being overly sweet.

Overall we were pleased with the DuClaw experience, and would definitely return.  Happy hour was as generous as can be found, with the beers pricing at less than $3 a pint.  The service was friendly and efficient, and the atmosphere relaxed and fun.  On a previous trip we had tried soups and sandwiches, and we were just as happy with the results on that occasion.

The weather outside was still gloomy when we left, but thanks to DuClaw Brewing Co., our spirits no longer were!