Guinness to Brew Beer, Branding in Maryland

Diageo will build a U.S. version of its popular Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore County, MD, the company announced this week.

Current plans call for a mid-sized brewery and accompanying visitor experience with an innovation microbrewery at an existing Diageo site in Relay, MD. Diageo hopes to begin the project this spring and have it completed by the fall to help commemorate the 200th anniversary of Guinness being imported to the U.S. 

Visitors will be able to tour the working brewery, sample beers brewed on-site in the taproom, and buy brand merchandise in the retail store. 

The new brewery will be used to produce new Guinness beers for the U.S. market; the brand's flagship Guinness Stouts will continue to be brewed at the landmark St. James's Gate in Dublin, Ireland. The additions, combined with an existing packaging and warehousing operation, would bring Diageo's total investment in Relay to approximately $50 million. The project will bring a Guinness brewery back to the U.S. after a 63-year absence.

"Opening a Guinness brewery and visitor center in the U.S. will enable us to collaborate with fellow brewers and interact with the vibrant community of beer drinkers," said Tom Day, president of Diageo Beer Company, USA. "Given the success of our Open Gate Brewery in Dublin and the popularity of beer tourism in the US, we are confident that Americans will welcome the opportunity to come experience Guinness brewing."