April 8th, 2018 Halethorpe, MD
I made it to the Guinness tasting room in Halethorpe, MD — finally. It was Will’s birthday (dBear’s son-in-law) and Dennis arranged a get together there.
The brewery is located right on Route 1 just north of the I-195 intersection. It occupies the old Seagram Distillery location. It is less than a 15-minute drive from my home in Columbia to the Guinness Open Gate Brewery and Barrel House. The Guinness brewery is located at 5001 Washington Blvd in Halethorpe. The test taproom is open Thursday-Sunday.
I walked in and found my friends and ordered a Guinness Stout, of course. It was, as always, delicious. Plus, they serve it in a big pint glass.
Technically, this was the Test Taproom. Besides the old standby, Guinness Stout, they have several other beers to try. My sights were locked on the Guinness/Heavy Seas collaborative The Longest Way Round, a Belgian Strong Ale, but I arrived just after the keg kicked. I ordered the Brown IPA, instead.
I carried the Brown IPA back to my seat, which restarted an ongoing discussion on Black IPAs; Pierce really likes black IPAs, while I prefer the traditional golden colors. This Brown IPA had traditional thin body and caramel, roasted malt flavors. I enjoyed the chocolate notes, grassy/bitter hop flavors with a nice bouquet of hop goodness. It was a well-made beer and very different from Guinness’ go to stouts.
As their website says, Guinness briefly owned a brewery in Long Island City, New York, from 1949-1954. Now, Guinness is brewing again in the US. Their famous stouts will continue to be brewed in Ireland but their Guinness Blonde American Lager will be brewed at the new brewery right here in Maryland. They are building a 100 hectoliter brewhouse where they will produce Blonde American Lager for national distribution. In the meantime, brewers Peter Wiens and Hollie Stephenson will brew small-batch beers, like the interesting Brown IPA I just tried.
Why Halethorpe, Maryland? That’s an easy one. in 2001, Diageo purchased Seagram. As part of the purchase, the site of the old historic Maryland Distilling Company came with the deal. This 62 acres along Route 1 is expected to become full-scale brewery later this year.
Future plans for Guinness Open Gate include a 22,000-square-foot customer experience center, offering tours, tastings, a retail space, and even a full-scale restaurant. Outside, a massive Guinness pint glass shaped grassy field will be available for concerts and other events.
Cheers!
Warren