USA, MD: Fin City Brewing Company opens in West Ocean City

Ryan Intrieri and Mike Glavich of Hooper's Crab House have started brewing their own beer in-house, Delmarvanow.com reported on June, 21.

They're calling their operation Fin City Brewing Company, a nod to Ocean City's heritage as a fish camp.

They got started about two years ago. A brewer named Vince Wright came to Hooper's during the annual fall beer festival. Wright had already taken home a prize for his pumpkin ale at the 25th anniversary of Punkin Chunkin.

They assembled their brewery in a storage balcony high above Hooper's dining room. That equipment sat untouched for a year before all the proper permits were finalized. They started brewing in April and plan to produce a new batch of beer every 10 days.

Glavich said they had help getting started from other local breweries like 16 Mile, Dogfish Head and Burley Oak.

Pieces of their microbrewery have come down the line from Dogfish Head. They have some hoses from Burley Oak and a keg cleaner from 16 Mile.

Hooper's offers Fin Light, a flavorful but easy-drinking golden ale, and Sneaky Wheat, a sharply flavored Belgian-style wheat beer. Later this year, they have plans to unveil a limited-release pumpkin beer, a coffee stout, and an Octoberfest.

"We're all really shocked at how fast this has taken off, how much the people love the beer," said Royette Shepherd, who owns Hooper's with husband, Pete. "We love the beer - but then you just never know. People just love this beer. So we're flying a little faster than we thought, which is a good thing."

22 June, 2012