Burley Oak Brewing Co.

4.59/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75

Visited on a Friday afternoon, sat at the bar and received great service. Got to try flights of a range of styles from IPA to stout. Quality ranged from great to stellar, didn't have a bad beer. I enjoyed watching the brewhouse through a window behind the bar. I'll gladly return any time I'm in the area.

 308 characters

4.18/5  rDev -5.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25

Great place to have a few beers. Not too loud, good music, friendly people behind the bar. Very good selection of brews, and had a couple of top-notch beers. While this is not my thing, dogs were allowed inside. I've heard some good things about Burley, and I'm very happy that we visited. Will DEFINITELY go back the next time we are in the area!

 347 characters

4.27/5  rDev -3.6%
vibe: 2 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75

Great selection of incredible beer. Awesome space. Solid service. But the country music from the live band of cool dads was so loud that I couldn't even hear the person sitting right next to me without shouting into each other's ears. I felt like I was at a concert. Brewery music is supposed to be background noise. It's not supposed to prohibit communication amongst patrons.

 377 characters

4.15/5  rDev -6.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4

Great little taproom just off of the highway (113 & 50) about 10 miles from Ocean City. Plenty of parking unless it's a weekend night. Cool, casual feel inside with lots of wood, and good music playing - and they do live music on Friday and Saturday nights! Generally low-key during the day but with small groups passing through; probably more tourists than locals, but friendly peeps nonetheless because they're beer people. 12 or so taps that display a bit of diversity, although there is a definite bent to the beers that they do - my wife can be picky but she found some beers to drink, so that's good enough for me. There's no food but I'm sure you can bring it in. And they do crowlers/growlers to go but a lot of the beers aren't available because of their limited supply so you should go ready to try a few. Very good service as well.

 842 characters

4.33/5  rDev -2.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4

Close to home for me. Very laid back vibe and relaxing place. Decent beer selection with many rotating beers. Definitely worth the visit if your in the area.

 157 characters

4.4/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25

I visited this brewery on my way to the beach, I had two series of flights and all the beer was quality. I wish they distributed in my area as I normally don’t go this out of my way to go to the beach.

 203 characters

4.56/5  rDev +2.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75

Great place outside of Ocean City, MD. Great staff that really know their beers and very friendly. They really like to push the boundary of taste flavors gere too.

The barrel pub tables are great to hang out and do a tasting of multiple beers. Crowlers in the 32oz cans is definitely the way to go

 298 characters

4.3/5  rDev -2.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5

Always had a wide range of beer on draft, along with bottles, cans, and growlers/crowlers to go. Was pretty busy, but the bartender was willing to take time with each customer to help pick beers/flights. Beer is delicious overall, with a few "eh" beers here and there.

 270 characters

3.94/5  rDev -11.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4

Nice little place with lots of wood all around and some interesting artwork on the walls. Wasn't filled with people and seemed kind of quiet at first, but eventually there was some live music, a nice little acoustic set by a couple guys. At the bar sparked up some conversation with some fellow customers who were much older than me. Lots of beers to choose from and even an incredibly sweet homemade root beer. No food but that's all right. I'd come back here again if I find myself in the Berlin area.

 503 characters

4.7/5  rDev +6.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5

The place makes you want to stay for a while, a very long while! Great comfort and homey feel to the place like a tavern. Sully was my bartender and he knew his stuff. I think I got a smile out of him too. I considered ordering Thai for delivery just to stay a while longer.

 274 characters

4.44/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.25

Dropped in for my first visit during their 4th Anniversary party while vacationing at the shore. I dig their style and had been hoping to see the brewery in person for some time - just so happened it was a special event. Major kudos for a super friendly and welcoming staff. Solid selection. Very impressed with the newer stuff - I'd say it keeps getting better and better. Cool merch as well. Would have liked to take a tour, but perhaps another time.

If I had to cite something negative, I thought the clientele was hit-or-miss; but, overall I highly recommend.

Prost!

 581 characters

4.8/5  rDev +8.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75

Visited while on vacation close by. Met by friendly, outgoing staff. Sat at the bar and sampled 7-8 of their beers, which were all either very good or outstanding. Fun, comfortable atmosphere for all ages. Will definitely return when back in town.

 247 characters

4.58/5  rDev +3.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5

I come to this brewery during my yearly camping trip to Assateague Island. Selection at this brewery is superb. Always a nice crowd of locals and tourists. They experiment often and come up with some great beers.

 212 characters

3.12/5  rDev -29.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 2 | selection: 2.5

Awesome beers, overpriced samples but cheap pints. Don't expect to get any of the best beers to go at all. 6 beers in growlers or 32 burley cans, 2 beers in 22zers, and 1 beer in 12 oz 6 packs. None of the these were the really good beers they had on tap. If you've had all their beer before and paid the $28 they ask to do a full flight, then cheap pints on premises, otherwise way too expensive to justify

 407 characters

4.29/5  rDev -3.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25

Nice, down-home craft brewery that's trying to do things right. Buy local, support sustainable business practices and brew good beer. What more could you ask for?? Their Vlad the Inhaler is outstanding; Rude Boy isn't half bad either. A little off the beaten track in Berlin, MD but well worth the trip.

Oh, and Berlin is a really artsy little town. Actually, it was judged the "coolest small town in America" in 2014, so it was fairly easy to convince the wife to visit Berlin for the shops, and "Oh BTW there's this really good brewpub just down the street...I'll go there while you browse the antiques".

 615 characters

4.75/5  rDev +7.2%

Was visiting a friend in Ocean City and he suggested this place. Excellent choice thay serve no food but you can bring your own or have something delivered. We had a pizza delivered and a few beers. Good selection and I had the Local which is a APA at 6% with 40ibu. A nice all around brew pub with nice people.

 316 characters

4.75/5  rDev +7.2%

A great location and really comfortable tasting room. They pour flights and pints and had excellent availability when I was there. Maybe a dozen beers including several one-offs. A really nice place to hang out for an afternoon or evening, and they even have live music. Definitely worth a stop if you're in Ocean City or visiting the northern part of Assateague island.

 371 characters

4/5  rDev -9.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 3.75

First impression was the place is in the process of 'maturing'. It doesn't seem quite the finished product, and reminds me of a 'work in progress'. Nice setup, with friendly staff, but does lack any offering of food to pair with the very nice beer selections offered.

 269 characters

4.47/5  rDev +0.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5

Update July 2015. I finally got to sit and sample nearly all the beers on tap and I am very impressed. These guys are killing it across a variety of different styles. I got there early and the vibe was very laid back as opposed to the first time I was here. Service was very friendly and timely. Gotta say, don't know if I've sampled a more impressive taplist in VA, MD, and DC thus far. They're killing it with sours, stouts, IPAs. Oddly enough, the only miss for me was one of their flagships, the DIPA Secret Sauce, where I got some unpleasant (to me) funk on the finish. That was the only miss for me on a truly impressive lineup and taproom experience.

 666 characters

3.98/5  rDev -10.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 1

Stopped by for a visit over the 4th of July weekend after a morning dawn patrol surfing down at Assateague. What a great day, surfing, then a pitstop at a brewery afterwards for a liquid lunch.

Well it was ok inside. I didn't feel very welcome though. A bunch of 20 something hipsters mostly at the bar and a few scattered older (50's) couples in some side tables. Bartender was attentive and pleasant but busy. Service was solid, good selection and they give 4oz pours as well as pints. No food at all but pretzels. That really stunk as I was very hungry after surfing all morning. Pints are reasonably priced but bombers to take home were way overpriced IMO.

Overall, the brewery puts out some solid brews, but I think its a bit overhyped.

 743 characters

4.83/5  rDev +9%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75

I really enjoyed this brewery. They have a great selection of different styles of ales. This isn't one of your "we have 30 different IPA's" type brewpub. They have so many styles, I had my first sour beer here and it changed my beer drinking life forever! They had two sours when I was there and each different one had options to add flavor. I added lemongrass into my sour and it was a treat.

This is a good down-home and very friendly place to enjoy a beer and a bite with a friend or to go out with the guys or girls to get stupid!!

 537 characters

5/5  rDev +12.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5

Burley is always on point. Atmosphere is relaxed. Always treated well. Selection is excellent. They are constantly pulling something new and experimental. They really care about their fans, new ones and regulars.

 212 characters

4.09/5  rDev -7.7%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5

Berlin is a most lovely town, and the addition of a quality brewery and tasting room is nothing but excellent news.

The wife and I arrived here as our plans to visit Assateague changed. Torrential rains forced us to spend the day in bars and breweries. Hard life... Burley Oak is beautiful and cozy, with an ample wooden bar, a nice big sofa, some tables and a log-cabin feel. I could spend hours here! They also feature local art for sale on the walls, and they have a ton of merchandise (their logo is beautiful and striking).

As for the beers... they sure have a good amount of them on tap. 12 taps, plus one nitro pour and a homemade root beer. Kolsch, Pils, porter, stout, Berliner Weisse... I had the Rude Boy barleywine (listed here on BA as an Imperial Red) and the Snow Job winter warmer. Both were sort of weak and unremarkable, almost interchangeable in flavor and looks.

Their hoppy brews tasted so much better. Pale Ryeder DIPA (pungent, dry, bitter), Aboriginal Gangster and Secret Sauce. Also Vlad, their Imperial Stout, damn well crafted.

At six dollars for a pint or snifter, prices ain't bad. They do growlers as well (reasonable prices), and also live music and events pretty much every day of the week. Nice to see a brewery that is not just pouring beer in the tasting room!

No food, be warned. Service is efficient but not terribly nice or engaging.

I would come back and hang out. This is truly a lovely joint.

 1,445 characters

3.92/5  rDev -11.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4

This place has been on my list for a while, and I finally decided to vizit, deviating slightly from the path on my last trip to Dogfish Head.

It's a simple place with a simple setup, but very nice overall. There's a good sized bar with lots of room for standing or sitting, and brewery processes in view behind a window. Atmosphere was fun and extremely laid back. There was a good selection of brews on tap, with a nice variety of styles, and sampler flights of different quantities were available, as well as pints and growlers. The beers were solid for the most part, though there was really nothing I had that blew me away. Prices were reasonable. Service was fine. There seemed to be a local patron factor going on, but we still got attention without having to wait. I didn't notice any food service.

They had tons of merch, and with a cool logo like theirs, it's hard not to pick something up, whether it be glasses, shirts, hats, whatever. They also bottle their beer once in a while, so if you find something you really like, you might get lucky and be able to bring home a few bottles for future consumption.

Overall, a nice place with some potential. Again, the beer wasn't extraordinary, but I'd still go out of my way to return again, so I'd recommend a visit if you find yourself in the area.

 1,308 characters

4.75/5  rDev +7.2%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4

The atmosphere here varies a lot. So, if you are picky, you are bound to fins a time you can enjoy. From laid back Sunday afternoons with sports, to Friday night's headlined with music. Their new beer garden also provides an enjoyable new social spot day or evening. Overall though, it is the more laid back kind of atmosphere you would expect in a small brewery.

They produce very high quality beers, even on the ones I do not particularly like the style of, their use of local and higher quality ingredients is quite present.

The bartenders never seem to be ones to just strike up q conversation. BUt, if you have a question, or are having trouble deciding, they will be more than happy to assist you.

Their actual range of their selection varies a lot. Some nights they may have around ten beers on tap, including nitro and cask offerings. Other nights, they may only have five beers tapped, and only standard CO2. Originally, they were specializing in big hoppy beers. Then, I noticed a trend towards Belgian style beers. Most recently, they have been dabbling in the sour beer world. Last time I was there, I was able to try a Berliner weisse.

No food, no food trucks in the area. But, there are many local bakeries and carry out places that sell food you can bring right on in.

Most pints are $6. A lot are high gravity though, which makes the price more reasonable. And $12 growlers.

Update: Burleys individual beers as well as draft lists have been improving so much, I had to update the rating. They're now canning. Come in for a 32 oz can, or find in your local craft beer shops soon.

 1,600 characters