Astro Lab Brewing, Silver Spring, MD

Date of Visit, February 19, 2022

Feeling cooped up for a couple of weeks, Doug suggested that we head to downtown Silver Spring to visit Astro Lab Brewing for some lunch and brews. Twist my arm, wouldya? 

We'd only been to Astro Lab one time, back in July 2021, where we actually ran into one of my co-workers hanging out on the patio. We had a wonderful visit with him, so I didn't log my beers for a write up. Happy to return to do an official blog entry on the space. 

Downtown Silver Spring currently hosts three breweries. The most popular is Denizens, everyone seems to know it if you mention breweries in town, and they have a second location s they've expanded their vision and mission in brewing. There's also Silver Branch, which is conveniently right on the Red line of the DC Metro line. In the Before Time when I'd be commuting, Doug would sometimes text me to say he was stuck in traffic in Virginia. I'd bail in downtown, grab a pint or two, a container of popcorn, and do a little more work for a half hour or so to avoid waiting or languishing in the cold at my stop (or, walking the 3/4 mile home in the cold or rain, or brutal heat). 

Astro Lab is located right on the main drag through Silver Spring, parking on the road in the immediate vicinity is sometimes a challenge, but garages in the neighborhood are free on Saturday and Sunday, and after 7pm weekdays, which makes it a little easier. They have a small limited menu of food, and they do not allow outside food to be brought in, which is kind of a shame when you scan the nearby neighborhood and realize the huge assortment of cuisines from Chinese to Indian to Ethiopian and good old American Subs right in front of your face. 

We were hungry in addition to thirsty, so we did get the hand pies they serve. Having been to a number of places that serve this sort of nomage, they're similar to Cornish Pasties or my favorite KO pies from Australia which  we used to enjoy all the time in Boston. They're not very filling, so we were careful not to overdo it with the beers vs. having a nice full belly to offset the ABVs. 

I only checked into 4 beers on Untappd, which is not the full experience of what we had. We share beers when we go out, Geoff always wants to try what we got so we've just all gotten used to trying from one another's glasses. It's a family thing. 

I started out with the Rock Creek Lager .. Lagers should be simple, easy, and clean and this one certainly is. Does not disappoint as a first choice.

Geoff got the Ripple, which was a nice berry stout. It had a lot of "nose" as it were, very berry scent but the flavor wasn't to match. Still, quite tasty overall.

Zero to 60 was Doug's choice, described as an Imperial/Double IPA/New England Hazy, tremendous flavor and scent. 

Gravitas Rainbow was my second beer, chosen for the nod to Thomas Pynchon novel. Which I've never read and I actually only know one person who has - Doug. This beer is fruit-full and delicious. The rainbow being all the flavors you get out of the mix, like peaches, nectarine, melon. Incredibly tasty without veering into any sort of Gose or sour. It remains a true IPA. 

We also had the Groovier (Geoff), and Battle of Nantes (Doug), and Geoff had a third to go with his awesome ice cream sandwich, but I didn't record what he had. I was busy goofing off and playing with the brewery cat. I really should do a whole write up of awesome brewery cats. Gotta protect the ingredients from mice! Keep doing amazing work across the country, you good babies.

I should mention the hand pies again. I had the curry and Doug had the beef. Both were delicious, but like I mentioned - small. Usually when I head out to a brewery I really also want a decent nosh. Potato chips on the side don't necessarily increase the experience. Overall though, the flavor made up for the small, and hand pies are supposed to be hand pies... and not the hands of a giant. 

It's nice to have some really good choices close to home!