First Taste: Denizens Brewing Co.

The Silver Spring brewery features beer and barbecue, but which did our reviewer like more?

September 29, 2014 9:28 a.m.

The people: Through marriage, siblings or work, the principals are all connected in one way or another. Founders Julie Verratti, an advisor for the Small Business Administration, and Emily Bruno, the former director of research and policy at the National Women’s Business Council, are married. Director of Brewing Jeff Ramirez, fresh from a stint at a brewery in Colorado, has a brother married to Bruno’s sister. Meanwhile, Taylor Barnes, the restaurant’s director of marketing and events, used to work with Bruno at the NWBC. And Che Ruddell-Tabisola, co-owner of the BBQ Bus, the food truck with new kitchen digs at Denizens, knew Veratti in a past life when they worked together on a gay marriage campaign in Massachusetts. Ruddell-Tabisola is married to Tadd Ruddell-Tabisola, the chef and other owner of BBQ Bus.

The place: The 3,000-square foot beer garden with its red umbrellas, bench seating and bean bag toss is lively and laid-back, with a wide range of guests—including babies, dogs and people who bring both. A sign instructs diners to seat themselves at the communal tables, and given the potential for order confusion (particularly on a busy night), the friendly servers are surprisingly efficient at delivering the right food and drink to the appropriate parties.      

Take advantage of the outdoor space while the weather allows (although heaters will help it remain open as long as possible) as a dark interior bar with stools and table seating doesn’t have as appealing a vibe. However, a downstairs dining room, with a sunken bar that overlooks the brewery, is due to open shortly.

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The food (and drink): While I never tried the curbside version of BBQ Bus, the food truck has been a popular downtown pit stop since opening in 2011. Nonetheless, I found the ribs, pork, chicken and brisket to be nothing special, bordering on dry and stringy, and lacking in soulful smokiness. Whatever you order, add generous squirts of barbecue sauces #24 or #18, which lend depth and moisture, and get the sweet-and-spicy baked beans for a side.  

Last week, Chef Tadd Ruddell-Tabisola expanded the menu with a number of small plates and a couple of vegetarian items, and I found much to like in my sampling, including terrific paper-thin, homemade potato chips (served with sauce #18); bratwurst cooked in Denizens’ pilsner with a particularly good sauerkraut, and nicely seasoned chicken wings.

Of course, the main draw here is the beer, seeing that this is Silver Spring’s first brewery, and the fact that the owners went to legislative lengths to get the place opened. I tried four of the five home-brewed choices, and was duly impressed by their freshness, balance and drinkability. My beer-bellied husband gave the Southside Rye IPA a particular thumbs up.

The bottom line: Great community gathering place; so far, the brew outpaces the ‘cue.  

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1115 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, 301-557-9818, www.denizensbrewingcom.com

Small plates $4 to $8; sandwiches $11 to $13; picnic plates $13 to $22.

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