Milkhouse Brewery at Stillpoint Farm

Milkhouse has not only matured into a quite competent brewery operation, but it’s a nice place to roll into for a pint, a snack, and a pleasant view across the rolling farmland of rural Maryland.
The concentration is on English-​style ales of modest ABV. Which is good, considering the windy roads that lead the the little brewhouse building on the hill. Almost everything is sessionable. Hopping is conservative as well, even in the strongest pale ales. For those who are are exhausted by 10% Cascade and Citra hop-​bomb über-​IPAs, Milkhouse is a godsend. If however, you have the iron palate of the true hophead who drinks nothing less than beers you can shellac a boat hull with, this is not your place.
Milkhouse has local cheeses and cured sausages for snacking. No twee charcuterie boards with artfully shaved piles of speck here. A cutting board, a knife, a wedge or wheel of Pennsylvania Dutch dairy co-​op cheese (Goot Essa — highly praised stuff), and a stick of tasty salami is the order of the day. BYOS (bring your own snacks) is also acceptable — I’ve seen people show up for pints of stout with a pail of oysters in tow.
They’re technically a tasting room, but they do sell full size drafts as well as a sampler flight of everything on tap. In addition, there’s always a cask-​conditioned real ale served by hand-​pump. The last time, it was their Stairway IPA which gains a pleasant creaminess from the finer carbonation cask conditioning affords.
For later, you can take home large format (22 oz.) bottles or 64 oz. refillable growlers ($ 5 for the container, $ 15 per refill as of November 2015). If Tom Barse the owner’s around, be sure to talk to him about the farm-​to-​brewery program they’ve instituted.

Great atmosphere and friendly staff. There’s a few issues though I should address. First, the beer. It’s not very good. If you’re looking for good craft brew, just go to linganore’s new brewery. Better beer and a lot fewer hipsters. These little weirdos were everywhere.
Listening to the owner brag to his friends how much he’s selling the salami for turned me off as well. I get it, you need to turn a buck on your investment. Just don’t make me feel like an idiot while you’re doing it. I think his exact words were, «I sell this shit for 15 bucks, ha ha ha!»

Great place to relax and have fun for a afternoon. Bring your corn hole, frisbee, and other lawn toys and hang for a while. Always a cool breeze and great view at the top of the hill. And the brews have always been good. Been there 3x, my husband has been there a lot and really likes it, too.

Good beers are easy to find but these brews are very good indeed!
Don’t come here expecting a brew pub experience. It’s more like a vinyard.
So bring a picnic and expect to enjoy some fresh air and rolling farmland types of scenery. Live music on weekends and you can take growlers or bottles home.

Great beer! Great atmosphere! Great music the night we were there (Clear Spring Bluegrass Band). The only reason I am withholding a fifth star is the fact that they don’t offer a little more food. Would be nice to have some light sandwiches, rolls, etc. to tamper down the effects of the beer. I wanted to drink a third beer while the band was playing but not on a basically empty stomach (cheese and salami and crackers only).
Love this place though and will be heading back real soon!

You know, if they had more food options besides cheese, crackers, and sausage (which I should add are locally made and are excellent) then this would be a perfect 5 stars, but that is the only area where I can even come close to finding a hint of fault. The brewery is located a good ways out in the country, though certainly not so far a drive from the DC-​MD suburbs as to make it overly difficult or time cosuming. And yet, given the steep rolling hills, the vast swaths of farmland, the mountains just on the horizon, and the scarcity of houses and big buildings, it feels like you’re hours away from DC… and though I love DC, I mean that as both as compliment for Milkhouse, and one reason why DCers especially need to make the trek up there for an afternoon and early evening. It just feels so relaxing and just enough of a distance from the city that it imparts the slightest hint of being on few-​hours vacation much further away. The beers are generally quite solid, with the Red Eye Porter and the Stairway IPA being excellent, while the east coast pale ale could use a bit more work. The staff could not be more friendly, courteous, and welcoming and when that friendliness is combined with the cozy feel of the tasting room and the lovely patio, it leaves one feeling like they’ve found a little slice of heaven.

Love the atmosphere on the farm and the owners are awesome! We are big fans of local craft brews, especially those who had a personal touch and take the time to provide some extra information to the tasting experience.
Three stars comes in for the beers – they weren’t awesome, they weren’t bad and there really was something for everyone. If you love beer and are venturing around, swing in. It’s worth the visit!

Had a hankering for some authentic, home-​grown beer, so I wound up heading out to Frederick as opposed to Baltimore, my usual go-​to for great breweries. It was Sunday, so the only brewery open in the area was Milkhouse at Stillpoint Farm. And it’s a good thing they were the only ones open; otherwise I’d have only spent minimal time there while trying to squeeze in other breweries too. First, the atmosphere is like none other — while sipping flights of their finest, you can sit on a patio area gazing at the beautiful farm land all around you. Being that it’s October, the folks at MH had pumpkins and gourds for sale, which were set up on a bale of hay, adding to the farm charm. The beer itself was decent — especially considering that they brew beer with their own farm-​grown hops (totally cool if you ask me). My favorites were the IPA and the Pale Ale, but they were all tasty; you could tell that the brewery really does care about their product. They also have various cheeses and crackers available to snack on. If MH was closer to home, I’d be a regular for sure.

beautiful beautiful location and atmosphere. but as for the beers, they were all mediocre and a little bitter for my taste. but if you like something hoppy its a great way to spend the afternoon.

Flights, pints and growlers… What more could a boy want…

I’ve made the trip out from Gaithersburg a few times to sample the different selections. It is about a 50 minute drive but the scenery is second to none. They have done a great job with both the interior bar area as well as the outdoor patio and covered picnic tables. Wonderful country atmosphere.
The beer is OK. No award winners here. As a homebrewer myself I try not to be too critical but I haven’t been wowed by what I have tried. The East Coast Pale Ale today seemed «green» and may have needed some more time fermenting. The Cask IPA was better but I wouldn’t make a special trip for it
This isn’t a professionally run operation which is one of the reasons I have given it many chances. However, the taps never seem to work right (half the beers were unavailable today) and the temperature is a bit warm. We saw a few groups of people leave as the line was piling up and they couldn’t get served. Also, there was some sort of «explosion» today that had customers running inside to make sure everyone was all right. I think it was just a CO2 tank that was leaking.
If you are a dog person they do have some farm dogs roaming around. They seem to like people but «Lacy» attacked my lab who had been sleeping at our feet. No owners around to help or offer an apology of any sort.
Overall you can’t beat the scenery and laid back atmosphere (A+) The beer © is serviceable but not nearly as good as Brewers Alley or Monocacy in Frederick. Bad dog owners (F).

We went out to the brewery for the first time last night. It was wonderful! We tried all the beers they had available and enjoyed all of them. We sat out on the patio which has gorgeous views and enjoyed some pints. The service was outstanding. We can’t wait to come back!

Milkhouse Brewery is a true gem far from the maddening crowds. The beer that they make is very honest; no special gimmicks with odd ingredients and they do not try to bowl you over with excessive hopping or high alcohol. What’s special is that most of their beers include hops that are grown right on the farm within earshot of the bleating lambs. Who knew hops of any quality could even grow in our Summer heat? There were six or seven beers available when I visited last weekend, including one on cask, drawn up with a hand engine (pump). They have a good range from light to dark, all unfiltered, and ABV’s range from 3.2 to 6.1%. I especially appreciated their Dollyhyde Petite Farmhouse Ale. It’s the lightest of the group in color and ABV, but it’s just a very very nice session beer with a great hop aroma and flavor. I’m having some now at home, and since it’s a work night, it won’t make me too foggy to get up tomorrow. They do offer flights of six, so you can sample before you commit to a pint. Bottled beer and growler fills are also offered.
Aside from the excellent quality of the beer, the setting is ideal for a few hours’ visit on the weekend. The farm itself is about 50 acres located just northwest of Mt. Airy among rolling hills. There’s a cozy wood-​paneled tasting room, a sunny patio and a pavilion with picnic tables. Food service is minimal, but they do have some really good local cheese available along with crackers. I’d recommend bringing a picnic if you want more than that. Kids seem welcome and there’s plenty of lawn for frisbee, soccer, etc. Make sure to shake the owner’s (Tom) hand; it’s like a rasp –true farmer’s hands! All in all if you like beer or just want an excursion out to the country, Milkhouse Brewery should be on your list.

Wow! This is pure micro-​brewing at its finest. About 30 minutes north of Gaithersburg, up in Frederick, MD, the Milkhouse Brewery at Stillpoint Farm is run by former teacher Tom Barse.
My wife and I decided to drop by to visit the Brewery today and try some of the local refreshments. The porter was very good, but the hoppiness of the IPA was outstanding! This was so very good.
I think the most shocking thing was to see the number of patrons so far out in the boonies on a Sunday afternoon, this is truly a sign of quality.
We will be returning to refill the growler.
Thanks Tom!