Nevermore for Baltimore Brewpub, Capitol City.

Bartender Angie and my portion of Fuel

Capitol City Brewery will overlook Baltimore's Inner Harbor nevermore.

The Baltimore location of the local brewpub chain closes on 30 September, a victim of rising rents.

To bid a proper farewell, I stopped by yesterday on a beautiful late summer afternoon and enjoyed a goblet of a marvelous beer called Fuel.

Fuel is a 10% abv Imperial Stout infused with Sumatran Coffee. It's dark, luscious and roasty, and it definitely smacks of coffee in flavor and finish. (The Shirlington Virginia location won a gold medal for their version of this at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival.)

Fuel was originally conceived of and formulated by a past brewer at the pub - Mark "Abe" Abernathy. He passed away three years ago; I drank to his memory, thanking him for such a beer. [CORRECTION from posted comment: Fuel was formulated and first brewed by Tod Heatwole, Cap City's first brewer at the Baltimore location. Abe was his assistant at the time.]

In a generous (and maybe wistful) nod to local support, the brewpub that day was also featuring featuring guest beers on draft. One was BaltoMarzhon from my employer, Clipper City Brewing Company.

I was attending a wedding that afternoon. Afterwards, I returned with friends for a refill of Fuel.

Pictured are: on the left, Brian (bartender at Growlers) and wife, and on the right, Sean Sweeney (he's a rep for the Maryland wholesaler Republic-National) and Ellie .

More photos.

Growlers Pub is located in the Patterson park district of Canton. A St. Louis, Missouri bar has claimed the legal rights to the name Growler's and has sent a cease and desist letter to the Baltimore pub. So, visit Growlers: they're asking their customers for re-naming suggestions.

[UPDATE: Now known as Baltimore Draft House.]