Maryland Beer Updates: April 2026
In 1963, Bob Dylan fans first heard “The Times They Are a-Changin”. And changes continue to unfold in the Maryland beer landscape. Check it out!
RAR Opening a New Location
RAR Brewing (504 Poplar St., Cambridge, MD) is planning an additional location just south of Salisbury, MD (1315 South Salisbury Blvd), the space recently vacated by Voodoo Brewing Co. The new location will be known as Chessie's Campus. They have announced they plan to open the new location in Spring 2026. The new location will join RAR’s other locations at Cambridge, MD, and at Chessie’s Wharf in Annapolis.
Saints Row Brewing Announces Closing
We reported near the end of 2025 that the owners of Saints Row Brewing in Gaithersburg, MD would be leaving the brewery and that they were looking for new owners. Since then, after more than eight years as a staple in Montgomery County’s craft beer scene, Saints Row Brewing has announced it will close permanently at the end of April. It will remain open through Thursday, April 30, giving customers a final opportunity to visit the brewery. A farewell “Silent Auction” and open house is also planned for Saturday, May 2 from 12pm to 7pm.
The Brewer’s Art Update
We previously reported the sudden closure of The Brewer’s Art in Baltimore. New details have since emerged. Owner Volker Stewart filed for bankruptcy on February 13 under the brewery’s operating company, Old Line Brewers LLC, reporting between $1 million and $10 million in liabilities, according to court records.
The filing indicates the brewery owed approximately $1.9 million to more than 65 creditors, including Baltimore City, the state, a bank, and former employees who were reportedly not paid following the February 2 closure.
Assets were listed at roughly $107,000. This includes about $75,000 in brewing equipment and kitchen appliances, along with smaller amounts tied up in untapped kegs and hops.
The Chapter 7 filing allows for the liquidation of assets to repay creditors. However, financial experts note that in cases like this, where remaining assets are limited, creditors often recover little, if anything.
South Baltimore is Getting Some New Paint
Kate Conway, co-owner of Pickett Brewing in Baltimore, shared, “The South Baltimore Brewery District (SBBD), in partnership with the Carroll-Camden Business Association, was awarded a grant through the Maryland Alcohol Promotion Fund (MAP) to add murals in the neighborhood where the breweries are located. MAP aims to promote the state as a world-class destination for craft beverage lovers to visit, and the South Baltimore Brewery District's collaboration on this project and Craft x Craft share that goal.”
“The first mural has started on the 1100 Wicomico building and features beer ingredients and a call for "Local Over everything," a sentiment shared by artist Caroline Lampinen of Okay Everything, whose studio is housed in the building. Future murals will be located on the Second Chance building and Elemental Metworks, both on Ostend Street. The breweries in the district hope this provides consumers with motivation to support local businesses as they make their way to the [Orioles and Ravens] stadiums, in addition to providing photo ops spots to promote Baltimore beer.”
The SBBD is a collaboration of Pickett Brewing, Checkerspot Brewing, Wico Street Brewing, and M8 Brewing.
Happy One-Year to Sandbox
Sandbox Brewhouse (880 N East St, Unit 201, Frederick, MD) marked its one-year anniversary on March 14, 2026, roughly one year after opening in March 2025. The celebration included Live music and bands. They posted on social media, “So crazy to think about! Thank you, Frederick, for seeing our vision and making Sandbox come to life! Sandbox moved into the location originally housing Rockwell Brewing.
Milkhouse Brewery Thursday Happy Hour
Milkhouse Brewery’s taproom is once again opening on Thursdays for happy hour, 5-8 pm, starting in mid-March. “This hasn’t been a thing since 2020, and we miss it. We are offering $5 pours of all beers and wine on Thursdays only. Lagers, stouts, Brett and wild ales, red wine, white wine, cider… everything!”
Maryland Beer Production 2025
The Baltimore Business Journal recently published a report on Maryland's 120 Largest Breweries: Ranked by Barrels of beer produced in Fiscal Year 2025. Comparing BBJ similar reports from FY 2024 and 2023, there are expected similarities, but there were also some obvious adjustments in the Maryland beer landscape. The numbers represent barrels produced. A barrel equals 31 gallons.
The top five breweries for FY2025 include:
• Heavy Seas Beer (20,465)
• Union Craft Brewing (10,479)
• Evolution Craft Brewing (9,804)
• RAR Brewing (8,908)
• Big Truck Farm Brewing (4,835)
For fiscal year 2024, we find similar rankings and production, save for Evolution’s jump to the number three spot in FY 2025, surpassing RAR Brewing. Barrel volumes for the top four were about the same, except that Big Truck’s production was about 20% less in FY25.
However, the big changes occurred in FY 2023, with the move of Flying Dog and Guinness’s major production moving out of state in 2024. DuClaw Brewing (Baltimore, MD) was the second-largest Maryland brewery at the beginning of the calendar year 2023. They decided to sell their operations to New Jersey’s River Horse Brewing, and thus didn't even appear in the FY 2023 report. One more interesting change was the ownership of Heavy Seas. In FY23, Hugh Sisson was listed as the owner; however, in FY24, that designation had changed to the B3 Beverage Company.
• Flying Dog Brewery (66,162)
• Guinness Open Gate Brewery (62,693)
• Heavy Seas Beer (26,528)
• Union Craft Brewing (10,208)
• RAR Brewing (9,295)
Feeling the Brew: How Hopkins Students Brought Braille to the Beer Can
What started as an engineering challenge is now raising a glass — and raising awareness — for Baltimore's blind community. In 2024, the nonprofit Blind Industries & Services of Maryland (BISM) challenged the Johns Hopkins University's mechanical engineering program with an unusual ask: could a team of students design a printer capable of embossing braille directly onto beer labels? A group of them said yes, and got to work. The result is a custom-built printer that puts tactile text right on the label. The team's first run produced 400 labels for Blind Spot, a special release from Baltimore's own Checkerspot Brewing Company. It's a fitting name for a beer born of a partnership: Checkerspot and BISM team up each year to host a fundraiser supporting people with vision loss.
For craft beer fans, it's a reminder that what's on the can's outside matters too.
Maryland Craft Beer Festival Returns to Frederick
Mayan Monkey Brewing at Maryland Craft Beer Festival 2025
Steve Lynch is the Manager of Marketing & Digital Strategy at Brewers Association of Maryland. He shared that the Beer Festival’s brewery lineup, scheduled for May 9, is available at mdcraftbeerfestival.com. “More than 50 Maryland breweries will be pouring over 200 of their beers, plus food trucks, live performers, and more, will all converge at Carroll Creek Linear Park for Maryland craft beer enthusiasts.”
At the time of this writing, the VIP Plus tickets have sold out, but VIP (12 pm admission) and General Admission (1:30 pm admission) tickets are still available.
Comments?
What is your take on the state of beer in Maryland? How about beer festivals? Are you still interested in attending these? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Stay Tuned!
Here are a few journal posts we are working on. Stay tuned!
Barrel-aged Beers - I recently interviewed Mike Tonsmeire at Sapwood Cellars in Columbia, Maryland, about his background in creating these beers and what goes into that process. Mike was great in offering his time and expertise.
I also asked Paul Davidson at Elder Pine Brewing & Blending about their barrel-aging and blending program.
Then I'm going to share what these two BA beer alchemists have to say about enjoying their creations. Again, the insights are excellent for specialty beer enthusiasts.
I recently traveled to Gaithersburg, Maryland, to meet up with Matt Furda at Mayan Monkey Brewing. Mayan Monkey offers an American/Mexican fusion of food and in-house beer. Matt has brought his brewing expertise from Flying Dog, Caboose Brewing, and Landmade Brewing to MMB.
