I stumbled into Hyattsville’s Franklin’s Restaurant and Brewery on a hope that their general store would sell homebrew supplies on a Monday when all other homebrew stores close by are closed (hint hint). I must have dreamed up that their store would stock clean bottles and fresh hops, as it’s more of a quality beer store and gag shop than anything else. Luckily, this mistake finally got me to visit the famed local brewbpub that I don’t seem to hear much about. Time to give them a little more press!
As it was the middle of the day and I was preparing to bottle my long neglected English Mild, my exploration of Franklin’s Brewery was not as long as I might have enjoyed, but I was able to get a few samples in and a game of Pac-Man before I went back home to scrub and bleach bottles from the recycling bin. Bonus points to the brewer that put the Peak Oil chart up on the upstairs brewery window, it made my day.
Franklin’s Private IPA is a nice hoppy IPA with a light maltiness and more focus on bitter citrus. Its got a great brownish orange color but not much head retention from my growler. I found it quite drinkable while I bottled my beer and with my Indian spiced rice dinner later that night. Franklin’s calls it a British style IPA, but it reminds me more of what the Americans have been putting out. It has 7% ABV so it packs a kick too, but you don’t taste the alcohol. Franklin’s has a few more pale ales and some Belgians, as well as a porter called Poorhouse, a session beer called Mission Accomplished and a kolsch called Bombshell Blonde. I also tasted a Solar-something beer which reminded me of a brown ale in some ways. Maybe a commenter knows the name…
The big challenge for the DC Beer enthusiast who wants some of Franklin’s tasty brews is getting there. Driving is pretty straight forward as you just take Rhode Island Ave into Maryland and you will see it on your right. The metro route is not as obvious. One way to do it is to take the red line to Rhode Island Ave then take the 83 bus into Hyattsville. You can get off at Baltimore and Gallatin in Hyattsville which is basically the doorstep.
Tags: Brewpub, Franklin's, growlers, hyattsville, maryland
