USA, MD: Thick-N-Thin Brewing Co. slated to open next month in Hagerstown

A new brewery is slated to open next month in the Hagerstown Gateway North shopping plaza off Sharpsburg Pike, promising pour-your-own options, seating for about 160 people, special events — and free popcorn, The Herald-Mail Media reported on July 6.

Thick-N-Thin Brewing Co. has sampled its brews at a few events this spring in preparation for opening its facility at 18330 Spark Drive. Last week, the Washington County Board of License Commissioners — also known as the county liquor board — granted the business a limitedClass D license for beer products owned and produced by the licensee, Adam Shaool.

Shaool told The Herald-Mail he'd had the idea for the brewery for several years, but the plan came together after he got reacquainted with brewmaster Jake Beamer after a party in Frederick, Md.

"I started thinking about about four or five years ago, and actually me and the brewmaster randomly met four years ago when I was talking about it," he said. But Shaool wasn't ready to start and Beamer had another job lined up, "and we kind of lost track of one another."

But when Shaool started making firmer plans, he mentioned to mutual acquaintances at a party in Frederick that he needed a brewmaster, and learned Beamer might be available.

"And it just was perfect timing," Shaool said, "couldn't be any better."

So what will set Thick-N-Thin apart from other microbreweries?

"Our motto is 'something for everybody,'" Shaool said. "I think that we're going to cater to not just the craft brew crowd, but everyday crowd and the — I don't know what to call it — the more Washington County local drinking, kind of do-things-our-own-way as opposed to following the regular kind of craft-beer business model.

"People are important, and our service is going to be very important. We're gonna have a self-pour … we're gonna have 28 taps when we're fully open; we're gonna start with 10, but we have the ability for 28 taps. Those will be self-pour taps."

Shaool said he plans to offer mix-and-match six- and 12-packs as well. "You could get 24 different beers if you wanted to," he said.

Thick-N-Thin will also offer a membership club for $99 that entitles members to special events, apparel, discounts and other perks — and one lucky member per year will get a chance to "make your own beer with a brewer, where you get to pick the flavor, pick the type, name it and work with the graphic artists about designing the label and taking the name," he said.

The brewery will offer a range of products from heavier beers with high alcohol content to lower content options, seltzers and ciders.

"We really want to focus on service and learning about our clientele and palates," Shaool said. "With our brew system, with one single brew we can brew up to eight different beers … So we can have a lot of flexibility with doing lots of different flavors, a variety of flavors. A maximum of eight flavors every three weeks."

Shaool said he hopes to have the brewery open in mid-August.

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