Naptown Pint: Evolution Craft Brewing’s road ahead starts at home – CapitalGazette.com

Flanked by pallets, kegs and towering, shiny stainless steel tanks, Jim Sharp walked me through the Evolution Craft Brewing Co. brewhouse located in Salisbury on the road to Ocean City.

Sharp is one of three head brewers.

Mike, hes an analytical guy, he said as we make our way through the equipment. His brain is just, all the time, firing on everything. Then youve got Tim, who is more laid back. If something goes terribly wrong, hes the one saying, Hey, take it easy. Everythings going to be fine. I think Im a little bit of an in between of both of them.

When he tells me that, and the fact that he doesnt stress out easily, Im not surprised. Within minutes of meeting the affable engineer-turned-brewer, it became clear Sharp is a relaxed guy.

Hes a seasoned pro, thanks to years in the industry including a stint as the brewer for Tall Tales in Parsonsburg but isnt phased by much.

Once, my pump went up in the middle of night, he continues. It was midnight, and it started spraying beer. I just shut everything down and spent another three hours on my hands and knees in three-inch-deep hot water, trying to fix it without tools. But during moments like that, I always tell myself, I have my dream job, and I dont have to sit behind a desk for nine hours a day.

Even though Sharps comfort in his own skin is emblematic of Evolutions welcoming, community-focused culture as a whole, the company whose owners are the first to admit they hasnt always done a good job of telling their own story.

Its a challenge that only amplifies itself the farther you travel from their brewery and cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge into Annapolis, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and beyond.

John and Tom Knorr are brothers, as well as the founders of Evolution. The former brought with him a love of food, and the latter came to the proverbial table with a love of beer. It was the marriage of those two elements that would later serve as the foundation for the brewery but before that, their story began with restaurants.

It started with The Red Roost Crabhouse and Restaurant in Whitehaven. They needed the best pale ale they could possibly get their hands on. Why? Well, its what pairs well with crabs.

But instead of seeking one out, they brewed their own the Primal pale ale, the first-ever Evolution beer.

Now, in addition to The Red Roost, their family of restaurants includes Boonies Burgers, Beer and Bait; SoBos Wine Beerstro; Specific Gravity Pizzeria and Beer Joint; Birroteca; The Nickel Taphouse; and Encantada.

Evolutions restaurant-forward approach is why youll find food pairing recommendations on virtually all of their beers sold including their newest seasonal IPA, Hops Limn.

Built on the success of their Pine-hop-le pineapple IPA (first released in 2016), this complement to fish tacos, hot summer days and sunshine has already sadly come and almost gone. But, if you see Hops Limn out in the wild on draft or in six packs, its worth the pickup.

There are beer drinkers who side-eye fruit-infused IPAs with the same angst they reserve for pumpkin beers. While I try to see the good in all of Beer Gods children, Ill admit I was also apprehensive, given my dislike of shandies, a blend of beer and some sort of carbonated drink, like fizzy lemonade.

Ick. Shandies are liquid, tart-fueled nightmares.

Lucky for my taste buds, Hops Limn hits the spot with a subtle kiss of citrus against the backdrop of a more traditional IPA recipe. (In fact, Id wager this beer may even prove inviting to those who have been skeptical of IPAs in the past.)

Additionally, as much as I love my tall boys of limited hazy hop bombs, Evolution demonstrates with this new release that you dont need to produce a beer that should be poured through a strainer before you drink it, for it to be considered delightfully juicy and crushable.

But the fact that Evolution has chalked up another win in their beer column should come as no surprise.

Evolutions Lot No. 6 double IPA is a classic, beloved by many a beer nerd far and wide. Nouveau Rouge is a phenomenal Flanders-style sour ale project found on our table every Thanksgiving. Though less popular, their Exile red ale also has a special place in my heart and it holds its own when placed alongside a generously-seasoned lamb shank.

And dont even get me started on their Rise Up imperial stout, made with local Rise Up brand coffee.

But at a time when the industry is changing rapidly, whats next for Evolution?

Even though their beach-side accounts are clamoring to have their product available in cans, and they recently started distributing to Tokyo (really!), their next investment will be in their own backyard.

Where some might look outward after years of success and forward momentum, the Evolution team announced in July theyre getting back to their roots through an expansion. They realized when people visit, many only remember the experience of their Public House, a restaurant attached to the brewing facility.

The renovations will include a family-friendly gathering area the kind has become synonymous with the modern brewery with plenty of green space, a fire pit and a little cornhole for good measure. Inside, they will be putting in a smaller brew house and pilot system that visitors will be able to see as theyre sipping from pints in the taproom.

Though these plans are made possible by the growth theyve seen since opening their doors in 2009, their choice to pivot backward is by design. Because, no matter what lays along the road ahead for Evolution, they want to ensure their connection to their community and their roots the foundation of who they are never gets left behind.

Liz Murphy lives in Annapolis with her husband, Patrick, and their two lazy dogs, Horatio and Nugget. She runs her own Annapolis-based beer blog, Naptown Pint. You can reach her at liz@naptownpint.com.

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Naptown Pint: Evolution Craft Brewing's road ahead starts at home - CapitalGazette.com