We often recommend this to the beer drinker who doesn't really like IPAs: The massive doses of hops used here go mostly to the citrus-heavy, floral bouquet you get when taking a whiff of Loose Cannon?not to an overwhelming bitter aftertaste, pretty much the antithesis of the slightly sweet, piney finish. All that flavor masks the booze (7.25 percent ABV) in this beer, which the Halethorpe brewery has been churning out in increasing proportions since 2005. It's also the Baltimore beer we're most likely to see on draft when we travel up and down the East Coast.

We love its goblet tap handle. We love its golden, criss-crossed can. We love the shadowy basement bar where we drink it on the cheap at happy hours. We love that it's been on draft in Baltimore since 1996. But most of all, we just love that sweet, malty, full-bodied, funky flavor in the 7 percent ABV abbey brown ale. It's not the newest kid on the block, but it may well be the best.

Big Beer Issue

Big Beer | Union Craft Brewing | The Brewer's Art | Heavy Seas Beer | Oliver Breweries DuClaw Brewing Company | Peabody Heights Brewery | Baltimore Beer Week Beer Bracket | Photo Gallery: DuClaw Brewery Tour