![]() ![]() Additionally, it is far easier to distribute nationwide from the Midwest than the East Coast. Combined with increased inflationary pressures, Diageo (and thus Guinness) was primed for belt tightening, not expansion. Although Diageo (parent company of Guinness) beat expectations in January 2023, on the heels of strong sales in Europe where Guinness saw a 71% increase in sales in Ireland, growth in North America was paltry, coming in at 3%. on the heels of COVID was not part of the strategy. Sustaining two operational plants in the U.S. With the announcement of the opening of Guinness Chicago it was pretty easy to read the tea leaves. Let us begin with Guinness, the shutting down of brewing operations in Baltimore does not come as a great surprise. The dominoes falling for the three of the state’s largest producers certainly was not welcome news for most, but there was quite a bit of good to glean from the industry as well. In a matter of six weeks Guinness announced plans to close the Baltimore Brewery, moving operations to Chicago Flying Dog sold to FX MATT, closing the Frederick plant and DuClaw was sold to River Horse, leaving Heavy Seas as the largest (and longest) Maryland independent brewery standing. I believe the recipe for a great tasting beer begins and ends with people.Summer is here and things are sizzling! Maryland has seen some drastic shifts in the world of brewing. I needed to build a bigger community for Good People, Good Beer, Good Life. That’s when I realized I was on to something. ![]() Yes, they liked my pours, but people were there to see ME. ![]() When it started back up in 2021, I was surprised to see so many people looking for me. Because of the pandemic the festival was skipped. My first time in attendance there was 2019, and we all know what happened in March of 2020. I get stopped from people who recognized me there even today, two years later. Since attending the Friendship Craft Beer Festival, things have really taken off. Not to mention the feeling I had when I saw the line for people waiting to see me was longer than for the pros. There’s no better satisfaction than pouring the beer you slaved over to see it enjoyed at a craft beer festival. Yeah, most of them happen now because of the following I have grown. I’m regularly asked about sharing my brews with friends – remember those tastings I mentioned. It is a great support system besides making lifelong friends, I’ve learned a lot, and started to build a following. I have been a valued member of my local homebrew club, the Brewers Association of Maryland, The National Brewers Association, and the MD Homebrew Guild. In fact, it’s our tagline: Good People, Good Beer, Good Life.Īnyone with the right knowledge can build a brewery, but not everyone can build a community. I am building a place to celebrate Good People, Good Beer, and the Good Life. I want to build an experience for people who love good beer and hanging out with like-minded folk. But I know exactly what it is going to be. I’m still in negotiations with a few landlords looking for the perfect location, so yeah, I don’t know what it looks like. I have a clear vision for what I want to build. From there I started looking for a location. With all of that experience under my belt, I felt it was time start developing my own brand and personality around the beers I was crafting. I visited trade shows, talked to every expert I could track down, and brewed more. ![]() I devoured as much information about beer and the industry as I could. A lot! I hosted tastings for friends and professionals. Once I had the perfect system I needed to brew and experiment and learn, I sought out to do just that. This set up is similar to the pilot systems many small breweries use. I built a fully electric system with vent hood, pumps, conical fermentors, and glycol chiller. I created a 300sf brewery in my home to hone my skills. I took Phil’s words to heart and I began to study. While that is not the advice I wanted to hear, it was the advice I needed. Here I was prepared to take the leap and start right away looking for a location - that was 2016. He gave me the best advice anyone could have given me at the time, “You’re not ready.” Having made a number of nice beers and wanting to do something in the hospitality industry for decades, I talked with my good friend Phil Rhudy who owns Independent Brewing in Bel Air, Maryland. ![]()
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