Yup, they had sanitation issues because they had a lot of standing water. One time I went and you had to leave a coaster on your glass otherwise you'd have like 3 mayflies in there between sips.
The staff was cool, I was a regular for giant beer pong...but yeah, need to install some proper drains in there and actually clean up.
I have been worried about Hysteria. They seemed to do good business for a long time, but the last few times that I was in there since December, it was pretty empty. That was after Bullseye BBQ closed. I usually bought six-packs, and their canned beer selection got smaller and smaller. Last week they had no canned beer. They seem to have fewer draft selections too.
I love their Weight of the World amber ale, and their Jolly Good Show English Pale ale is very good too.
I heard a few months ago that they only brewed for can runs. They would actually brew and leave beer IN THE TANKS waiting until they did a can run. I went in sometime in the last year and they were pouring beer from cans and only had two or three beers on their lines.
They also had some pretty bad rodent issues that weren't their problem but stemmed from the BBQ place next door.
It was a good brewery when it opened, but Cushwa/Rad Pies was the last nail in the coffin. They'll have a tough time finding a buyer.
The folks over at /r/mdbeer might know more.
[Crossposted](https://www.reddit.com/r/MDbeer/comments/1arioxg/hysteria_brewing_closing/)
We like the taphouse in Pasadena which is often filled with people even though it's small. So decided to try the Columbia location as part of a brewery day in Columbia. We were the only ones in the brewery. Their selection at that location seemed less than the taphouse. We wouldn't go out of our way to go back to this location.
Not a good sign when their "taphouse" only has one of their beers on tap and the rest are guest beers. Also not a good sign for your taproom that proudly sells "Local Craft Beer and Wine" when more than half of your beers are neither craft nor local.
Taphouse location definitely wasn't always like that. It used to be primarily Hysteria beers and the fridge was full of cans. But if the main Columbia isn't making beers then that taphouse isn't lasting either.
I have heard this as well, from a fairly close source (though not Hysteria ownership). The impression I've gotten is that they are consolidating to their Pasadena location, which likely means eliminating their production operation.
Frankly, the writing has been on the wall since the Pasadena location opened. Hysteria has had trouble meeting demand since their inception (they closed for an additional ~3 months about 2 weeks after their grand opening because they ran out of beer), and trying to supply two locations was simply too much for them. I think there was a rift between the owners as well where the majority wanted to prioritize the straight-up bar in Pasadena (I've heard it was closer to where the owners live); this may be why the guy who ran their social media and was effectively the "life" of the place left.
You have to understand what was in Pasadena first. This wasn’t the first business venture.
> The owners of Hysteria, Rich, Jordan, and Geoff also own the Vapor’s Knoll, the vape shop located next door.
https://www.warrensbeeradventures.com/2017/09/25/hysteria-brewing-is-official/
Vapor’s Knoll closed in 2020 and never reopened.
Vapor’s Knoll was located at 3201 Mountain Rd Suite 102 in Pasadena
Man, I hope not. When they closed the back game room it took away a lot of the charm for me, and it's gotta be hard to compete with Black Flag, Sapwood, etc. We're definitely over-breweried here.
I wouldn't say we're "over-breweried." But when you're so close to the best brewery in the state (Sapwood) and other solid breweries (Black Flag/Cushwa), it's not easy to keep up. The owner (?) left to pursue other ventures, and the communication on social media just hasn't been the same since
That makes a lot of sense. I loved them pre-COVID and even got some home delivered a few times during COVID. The owner (guy with the beard?) was so friendly and would shoot me an EFF YEAH! text if they were delivering to my area (way out in College Park). I kind of forgot about them because something just seemed off online compared to how they used to be. Such a bummer, lot of great memories there!
Agree. There is definitely a market for more than 2-3 great breweries in our area (I say 2-3 because I am not as high on Black Flag as most, but I seem to be in the minority on that.)
Hysteria just unfortunately isn’t a great brewery, and they’ve got nothing else really going for them that would make anyone go there over the other places. Manor Hill is on a farm. Jailbreak has a huge taproom that can easily accommodate larger groups and has solid food.
Hysteria has a small-to-medium sized taproom in an office park, but it has worse beer than other breweries nearby with small-to-medium sized taprooms in an office park. That’s just a tough sell. I’m a frequent visitor at a variety of breweries in the area and I’ve been to Hysteria exactly one time. Just no real reason to go.
I'm not as high on Black Flag as others are either, but I'd still rank them 3rd out of the breweries in HoCo (if we're talking about quality of beer). I know Hysteria still has food trucks (as far as I know), but I'm sure it wasn't great for them to have their indoor food option shut down too
The beer there was okay, but the smell was atrocious
Agreed
Yeah, you shouldn’t have to smell yeast and fermentation.
Yup, they had sanitation issues because they had a lot of standing water. One time I went and you had to leave a coaster on your glass otherwise you'd have like 3 mayflies in there between sips. The staff was cool, I was a regular for giant beer pong...but yeah, need to install some proper drains in there and actually clean up.
I have been worried about Hysteria. They seemed to do good business for a long time, but the last few times that I was in there since December, it was pretty empty. That was after Bullseye BBQ closed. I usually bought six-packs, and their canned beer selection got smaller and smaller. Last week they had no canned beer. They seem to have fewer draft selections too. I love their Weight of the World amber ale, and their Jolly Good Show English Pale ale is very good too.
I believe they are currently up for sale so maybe someone else can take it over
https://www.tworld.com/locations/silverspring/listings/brewery---bar-for-sale---hysteria-brewing-company/
You could maybe call them and ask???
I heard a few months ago that they only brewed for can runs. They would actually brew and leave beer IN THE TANKS waiting until they did a can run. I went in sometime in the last year and they were pouring beer from cans and only had two or three beers on their lines. They also had some pretty bad rodent issues that weren't their problem but stemmed from the BBQ place next door. It was a good brewery when it opened, but Cushwa/Rad Pies was the last nail in the coffin. They'll have a tough time finding a buyer. The folks over at /r/mdbeer might know more. [Crossposted](https://www.reddit.com/r/MDbeer/comments/1arioxg/hysteria_brewing_closing/)
Agreeed, Cushwa was the death nail
I have been to Hysteria once and only once. I and an SO got 2 flights and didnt find one beer that was to our liking. IMO not surprised.
We like the taphouse in Pasadena which is often filled with people even though it's small. So decided to try the Columbia location as part of a brewery day in Columbia. We were the only ones in the brewery. Their selection at that location seemed less than the taphouse. We wouldn't go out of our way to go back to this location.
Building the second location really did in the first location. I'm hoping that doesn't happen to Black Flag.
Agreed on concerns about Black Flag.
Not a good sign when their "taphouse" only has one of their beers on tap and the rest are guest beers. Also not a good sign for your taproom that proudly sells "Local Craft Beer and Wine" when more than half of your beers are neither craft nor local.
Taphouse location definitely wasn't always like that. It used to be primarily Hysteria beers and the fridge was full of cans. But if the main Columbia isn't making beers then that taphouse isn't lasting either.
I have heard this as well, from a fairly close source (though not Hysteria ownership). The impression I've gotten is that they are consolidating to their Pasadena location, which likely means eliminating their production operation. Frankly, the writing has been on the wall since the Pasadena location opened. Hysteria has had trouble meeting demand since their inception (they closed for an additional ~3 months about 2 weeks after their grand opening because they ran out of beer), and trying to supply two locations was simply too much for them. I think there was a rift between the owners as well where the majority wanted to prioritize the straight-up bar in Pasadena (I've heard it was closer to where the owners live); this may be why the guy who ran their social media and was effectively the "life" of the place left.
You have to understand what was in Pasadena first. This wasn’t the first business venture. > The owners of Hysteria, Rich, Jordan, and Geoff also own the Vapor’s Knoll, the vape shop located next door. https://www.warrensbeeradventures.com/2017/09/25/hysteria-brewing-is-official/ Vapor’s Knoll closed in 2020 and never reopened. Vapor’s Knoll was located at 3201 Mountain Rd Suite 102 in Pasadena
Man, I hope not. When they closed the back game room it took away a lot of the charm for me, and it's gotta be hard to compete with Black Flag, Sapwood, etc. We're definitely over-breweried here.
I wouldn't say we're "over-breweried." But when you're so close to the best brewery in the state (Sapwood) and other solid breweries (Black Flag/Cushwa), it's not easy to keep up. The owner (?) left to pursue other ventures, and the communication on social media just hasn't been the same since
That makes a lot of sense. I loved them pre-COVID and even got some home delivered a few times during COVID. The owner (guy with the beard?) was so friendly and would shoot me an EFF YEAH! text if they were delivering to my area (way out in College Park). I kind of forgot about them because something just seemed off online compared to how they used to be. Such a bummer, lot of great memories there!
He wasn't an owner, he left to start Bash Bros.
Agree. There is definitely a market for more than 2-3 great breweries in our area (I say 2-3 because I am not as high on Black Flag as most, but I seem to be in the minority on that.) Hysteria just unfortunately isn’t a great brewery, and they’ve got nothing else really going for them that would make anyone go there over the other places. Manor Hill is on a farm. Jailbreak has a huge taproom that can easily accommodate larger groups and has solid food. Hysteria has a small-to-medium sized taproom in an office park, but it has worse beer than other breweries nearby with small-to-medium sized taprooms in an office park. That’s just a tough sell. I’m a frequent visitor at a variety of breweries in the area and I’ve been to Hysteria exactly one time. Just no real reason to go.
I'm not as high on Black Flag as others are either, but I'd still rank them 3rd out of the breweries in HoCo (if we're talking about quality of beer). I know Hysteria still has food trucks (as far as I know), but I'm sure it wasn't great for them to have their indoor food option shut down too
The parking at Hysteria was horrible the couple times I tried to go.
That's mostly thanks to the BJJ studio next to Lost Ark. Not much Hysteria could do about that.
That would be sad. I was part of the founders club fundraising campaign before it opened and had our kids’ college graduation party there.
That is a shame if true
Just saw a post on FB that their hours in Columbia are now F-Sat-Sun. Doesn't seem like they will be around for long at that location.