BabyCat Brewery — Restaurant in Kensington

Who would have known that an old auto repair shop behind Kensington’s venerable little shopping that houses Old Town Market and Dish and Dram would become the hottest microbrewery in the area? I’ve been coming regularly since they opened up late last year - one of the owners I spoke to those first few days seemed like he was completely surprised by the hundreds and hundreds of people - grown ups, families, singles, cyclists, neighbors, fitness and not so fitness folks, and others piled into this indoor/outdoor space. That first week, they weren’t even pouring their own brews yet! Since then I’ve had a chance to try many of their brews, my favorites: catnip blender and a limited brew, a jalapeño lime ale appropriately named Hot Tin Roof! I forgot their darker offering that had coconut notes in it - perfectly delish over the winter!

It’s closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but for the rest of the week, depending on the weather and time, you’ll see folks of all ages and sometimes families with their kids who can roam around freely and safely because the area is enclosed. Pets of all kinds are allowed it seems. Earlier this year a couple sat on a couple of colorful Adirondack chairs with their bunny!

They don’t make any food there, but you can purchase chips, dips, soft drinks, and more for a couple of bucks a pop!

If you really want a hearty meal, they have food trucks most days, plus you can order online from Dish and Dram right next door. They’ll bring your meal(s) over and put it on a table where you can retrieve it after a few minutes.

You would think that a microbrewery in a smallish town, behind a mini shopping center would have a hard time finding traction, but this regular thinks it is the magical combination of location (just a little off the beaten path), their delicious brews, flexible and open spaces and places to gather, the ease of ordering food (you can even bring your own food in) and maybe the mood you find yourself in as you drive through the Mayberry RFD-like Kensington that puts folks in the mood to gather, share food and drink, and just hang out for stretches at a time. If you’re lucky you’ll hear the nearby train tooting its whistle (the conductor wishing he was down there with the crowd).

Did I mention they regularly...

We stopped in mid-day on a Saturday when our original destination ended up opening later than it was supposed to. Again, another lucky accident!

I told Maddy and Reilly this while I was there…I’m quite surprised and how good this place and their beers are. Not sure why but I was expecting to be disappointed by the newcomer in Kensington. Starting a craft brewery is a tall task and with heavy hitters like Other Half asserting their dominance in the IPA game, I was skeptical at best.

We arrived shortly after opening and the place was sparsely populated. The I side of the taproom has ample seating - bar seats to high tops to couches, and they had about 12 or so beers on tap from several varieties.

Not a beer drinker, no problem. They have Cat-tails, their play on cocktails, and wine too. Aren’t there for the alcohol? (First, probably should have skipped a brewery) They have non-alcoholic offerings too.

From what I understand, food is covered by a nearby restaurant but when we visited they had a pop-up from Ema Rossi (see my review on that place, TL;DR - “Do it!” - Shia Labeouf).

As an IPA guy, I was quite impressed with the 2 they had available - On the Prowl & Catnip Bender. The latter is apparently their most popular.

Reilly and Maddy are both great! Reilly kept us laughing and Maddy was so sweet and attentive. We were there for a few hours and they offered us several tastings of their beers. I can honestly say all were above average with the exception of their oatmeal stout, and quite frankly, I’m probably not the person to be judging any stouts so don’t take my word as gospel.

For only being in the game for about 7 months, I’m very impressed and will absolutely be returning!

Trivia nights on...

Severe lack of cats, but one baby for every 2 adults! Avoid this place if you're looking to enjoy adult beverages in an adult establishment. I swear, every other person had what looked like an infant or 2-3 toddlers with them. I go to breweries to drink my beer with my adult friends and not be around screaming babies and feral children running amuck. If I wanted that, I'd go to chuck e cheese. There was a child sitting at the bar making a mess with her crackers all over the place, while who I assume were her parents, had their backs turned and were chugging back beer and wine. I thought it was illegal for anyone under 21 to be sitting at a bar? While waiting in line an infant on its dad's shoulder spewed all down his back and I'm glad I thought to stand a several feet behind him, or I would have got hit too. A few small kids were running around between patrons and one slammed into the back of the legs of an elderly man and almost toppled him. The live music was super loud and none of those babies had ear protection on. I get it, parents want to feel like part of the crowd again, do baby sitters not exist anymore? When I was kid, my mom got a baby sitter or my older brother watched me, and she went out with her friends for a few hours. Invite your parent friends over to your house with all their kids and bring in drinks for the adults in a controlled and kid friendly environment. The beer was also mid. While it was good, it wasn't anything to write home about (and I tried them all). Even if there weren't a ton of babies and kids all over, I don't think I'd be going back for more beer. The employees though are very friendly considering how chaotic it was in there. They were probably the only...