We enjoyed the beer and the Oktoberfest. Music was good. The reason for rating is that the bartender tipped herself the highest amount when she ran my card for a 6-pack to go. That was not right. I may not go back, as a result.
We have been checking out local breweries in the area and so far this is our favorite- especially for the Downtown Silver Spring area!
First off- the service was outstanding- we were greeted with a smile before we even walked up the steps. There was two servers working the outside area where we sat and they were fast and efficient. Food and drinks came out quick and the table never sat with anything empty for more than a minute.
The Biergarten was unique- it wasn’t set up in a parking lot like other places - it had its own designated area with lights and plenty of seating. It was in a courtyard that offered tons of shade for a sunny day and a nice cool breeze is created through the buildings.
You order through an app which had pictures of the food and was easy to use!
Outside is dog friendly which our pups truly enjoyed.
We ordered a few pretzels to start, split a chicken quesadilla, and had a Dazed and Confused, a couple Magnificent Intent’s and a Dr. Juicy. The Magnificent Intent was a perfect summer ale !
We live right across from this joint so we often visit here casually w/ our dog. It is kind of unique spot that located in the middle of buildings but actually it provides nice shades for summer time outing here. It is literally right next to Silver Spring stn. Dog friendly which is big plus for us. Servers are always attentive, have great knowledge of their beer selection. I love this spot! 10/10 highly recommend!
You walk into most breweries these days, and you’re met with a “choice“ of seven different varieties of IPA.
Not at Silver Branch, where they have at least a half dozen decidedly different styles, and all are quite good—as consistently good a brewery as we’ve found on the East Coast.
It’s not perfect—the food leaves something to be desired (pretzel + beer cheese = good), when it’s busy, the service can be sort of a disaster, and the order on an app on your cell phone is annoying as hell.
But good beer plus a nice ambience goes an awful long way!
This is one great place to hang around with friends and family. Seating is plenty. Beers are abundant. I especially liked their Pilsner (Glass Castle). Food is delicious, especially their pretzel and beer cheese. Harbenero chicken bao was top class. The best part is that staff are pleasant and provide a friendly experience. Becca was our waiter and guided nicely on how best to navigate the menu to order and also tips on where best to park.
Stopped here on the way to Fedex field for a concert. Sat at the bar. We had a specific bartender tend to us and he was very knowledgeable, friendly and tentative.
They have a great beer selection there and lots of beer to go. Large food menu as well and quite tasty. Huge indoor seating area and a decent sized outdoor seating area as well.
Cool place that specializes in European style beers. I like the ordering system, everything is done via QR code and online ordering and they just bring it to your table.
Had a few small pours, a pint, and a pretzel. The pretzel was good as were most of the beers. I especially enjoyed the English Mild. As an added point to their benefit when I ordered the stout and ended up disliking it the staff were kind enough to replace it with a different beer at no charge. That's good customer service if I've seen it.
We recently hosted an event at Silver Branch Brewing and couldn't have asked for a better experience. Meredith responded almost immediately to every correspondence and worked with us to plan a successful event within our budget. They had a perfect semi-private space for our party where we didn't have to pay a premium for a private room but it still felt like we had a space to ourselves. Everyone enjoyed the food and drink with many attendees walking out with 6 packs of beer. And we appreciated that while they are a brewery, they had drink options for non-beer-drinkers such as wine and mixed drinks. Chris and their onsite staff were friendly and accommodating making sure our needs were met. Thank you to Silver Branch and their amazing staff!
I'm an up and coming stand up comedian who stumbled upon this gem of a place by accident. The Silver Branch Brewery gave me an opportunity to go for my dreams. Sunday nights from 6pm-8pm. THE SHOW is hosted by comedienne, Stacy Axler! It started with "THE COMEDY DOESN'T STOP ON A SUNDAY!" and continued with
"COMEDY IS CALLING!"
The Silver Spring location presents a showcase for new comedians to hone their craft in front of a live outdoors crowd. Come out and experience the opportunity to see a rising star in the rough!
Great pub in downtown Silver Spring.
Really easy to find location, right next to the metro.
Rating purely as a brewery, a solid 5 stars, no question.
I removed 1 start for the following reasons:
• Food options are limited
• Food quality was mediocre (except those 🥨s 🤤!)
• Didn't really feel the whole Gemütlichkeit 🫤, maybe because it was pretty dead when we arrived or maybe it was on off day but still 🤷🏽♂️
Now that said, the staff were certainly cool, accommodating, & service was great but idk. I guess I was thinking more of a UK/European-style setting. Where you can chat with everyone, even the staff but my only interactions with the staff at Silver Branch was when they were serving or I sought someone out with a question.
Ok, let's talk about the food in more detail:
Overall, the food was ok. Not bad but nothing special. Just fine to snack on while enjoying drinks.
Tried everything they were serving at the time, except the hummus platter. Here are my thoughts:
Chips & salsa - don't recommend unless you truly just want a very small handful of chips with some salsa
Tacos (got the chorizo potato) - not great but certainly not bad. This would be 2nd only to the pretzels.
Loaded Nachos - just like the other tortilla chip option, (they really are conservative with their chips lol) this one is simply not a great value.
Also the serving method / presentation is not great. Came out on a small paper plate. Very difficult to dig in, especially if trying to share. On a positive note, they were tasty (got the barbacoa version)
Quesadillas (chicken & cheese) - think your standard quesadilla. Hard to mess up really but difficult to make awesome. These aren't awesome. Not as good as Chipotle or even Taco Bell honestly but again, not bad.
Pretzels (with mustard & beer cheese) -
Honestly, the pretzels were the best tasting food there! Easily.
Add the beer cheese & it's a slam dunk. No contest with the rest of the menu.
Ok, moving onto what we're all here for. The Bier. I tried every beer they had on tap minus IPAs because well....I hate IPAs lol:
Silver Branch Beers, March 2022:
• Infinite Time Construct - Dry Irish Stout on NITRO, 4.5%, very smooth, chocolate & malt flavor
• Beyond the Gnome World - Saison, 4.9% - very smooth, fruity notes, light & refreshing
• Glass Castle - Pilsner, 5% - wasn't on tap although the website said it was 🫤
• Golden Goat - Blond Bock, 6.6% - wasn't on tap although the website said it was🫤
• Vanilla Latte Chronicle - Coffee Stout, 7.2% - very smooth, strong & delicious vanilla notes, slight coffee flavor
• Nitro Chronicle - Nitro Foreign Extra Stout, 7.2% - smooth, malty, with a hint of hoppy bitterness
• Train to Midnight - Baltic Porter, 8.1% - fairly smooth, somewhat hoppy, good Baltic porter
• Full Tweed Jacket - Wee Heavy Scottish Style Beer, 8.2% - smooth, complex flavors, Carmel?, Malt, idk? Delicious! One of the best Scottish Style beers I've ever had!
• Silver Century - Abbey Quadruppel, 11.2% - extremely smooth & easy drinking abbey quadruppel. Only a slight hoppy forenote, extremely smooth for an 11+% beer. One of the best quadruppels I've ever tasted!
• Obsidian Castle - Tmave Pivo Dark Lager, 6% - malty, Carmel notes, slightly hoppy but not overpowering, overall very smooth & delicious
• Cloud 9 - Hefeweizen, 5% - smooth, light, & refreshing white wheat beer. All day drinking here!
• Landbier - Amber Lager, 5.5% - very similar to Cloud 9 but just a hair more hoppy & heavier, slightly
Hope this helps someone decide on a meal or drink. Cheers 🍻
