HEX Superette

HEX Superette at 5718 York Road in Govans is three businesses sharing one address: a small grocery at the front, a fermentation production facility at the back, and a tasting-room bar in between. It comes from Shane and Meaghan Carpenter, who have been making kraut, kimchi and kombucha as HEX Ferments since 2013 and built the superette around that work rather than beside it. Baltimore Magazine called the result one of the most unique drink menus in the city. The food follows the same logic — approachable rather than technical, as Meaghan Carpenter put it: they are not using tweezers or foams, it is very approachable food that is extremely nutrient-dense.

The reason a non-drinker should care is fermentation, and specifically what it does to a drink's texture. Shane Carpenter's explanation is the clearest argument for kombucha as a cocktail base rather than a health drink: its natural carbonation is a by-product of the ferment, and that produces a much bigger, more acidic bubble than force-carbonating a liquid ever will. That acidity and structure is exactly what non-alcoholic drinks usually lack, and it is made on the premises. The bar list runs house-made sodas and kombucha-built mocktails — the Teetotally Tiki, a Dandy Tonic, a Spicy Melissa, a non-alcoholic oxymel spritz and a farm soda have all featured — alongside wines and a few beers. Two things to be clear about. HEX Superette is not an alcohol-free venue: it serves full-strength cocktails, wine and beer as well, so this is a strong non-alcoholic programme inside a working bar rather than a dry room. And the business is midway through moving its website to a new address, with several menu pages currently returning errors, so the current list is best confirmed in person.