Unfortunately, the latest updates on Maryland's beer scene are dominated by closures. But the beer that remains is excellent and is winning medals at national and international beer contests. There's good news for Maryland farm breweries. Most beer aficionados know Max’s Taproom in Baltimore, and it continues to host world-class beer events for a wide range of tastes.
Guinness Open Gate to Close Its Doors
Some closings sneak up on you. This one has been building for a while. Diageo, the London-based owner of Guinness, is closing Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Halethorpe, just outside Baltimore, to the public after November 1, 2026, with the rest of the operation winding down by year's end. The company cited rising operating costs, a tough economy, and changing consumer habits. That leaves Chicago's Open Gate, opened in 2023, as the only Guinness brewery in the U.S.
It's easy to forget how big a deal Open Gate was. When it opened in August 2018, it was the first Guinness brewery on American soil since 1954. Diageo spent a reported $80–90 million converting the former Calvert Distillery and Seagram's warehouses into a three-brewhouse operation and hired respected craft brewers to run it.
Getting there meant rewriting Maryland beer law. Local brewers pushed back on an early version of the 2017 bill, and the compromise that passed raised the taproom limit from 500 to 2,000 barrels a year. In 2019, Guinness and the Brewers Association of Maryland lobbied together to raise it to 5,000. Whatever you thought of a global brand moving in next to our independents, Maryland's small taprooms came out ahead.
The wind-down started in April 2023, when Diageo shut the production brewery, cutting about 100 jobs. The taproom, restaurant, and 10-barrel experimental system carried on until now. Diageo plans a $250,000 community fund, and the brewery says more than two million people came through the gate.
Interchange Tiki Bar & Brewery Closes in Williamsport
“Well, friends... this is a post we never wanted to make. Tomorrow, Saturday, October 10th, will be our final day at Interchange Tiki Bar & Brewery.”
This is the third brewery at this location. It was the original location for Cushwa Brewing before the business expanded within the same park. Homaide Brewing then took over the location, a venture of Stephan Perez and Lucas Pinyan. Lucas later rebranded it as Interchange Tiki Bar & Brewing.
Riley’s Mill Ale Works In Chestertown Closes October 16
Riley’s Mill Ale Works in Chestertown, Maryland, posted this on social media. They opened in January 2025.
“With heavy hearts, we are sharing some incredibly difficult news. After two unforgettable years, we have made the heartbreaking decision to close the doors of Riley’s Mill Ale Works.”
Black Flag at a Crossroads: Columbia Brewery Could Close November 30
Not every closing story ends with a closing. Black Flag Brewing Company, at 9315 Snowden River Parkway in Columbia, says it could shut down on November 30 if a pending sale falls through. The brewery is quick to add that nothing is final yet.
Here's the situation. Black Flag's original 10-year lease runs out on November 30, 2026. Earlier this year, the owners signed a contract to sell the business to another local brewing brand. Under that plan, both brands would be brewed under one roof in Columbia, and the current staff would stay on. The catch is that the buyer's funding is only about 20% in place, and the clock is running.
So Black Flag is now taking backup offers and giving priority to buyers who will keep the existing team. The brewery also shared a personal reason for stepping back. The owner's first child arrived this year, and it's hard to run a brewery and negotiate a lease extension with a newborn at home.
Black Flag opened in 2016. Ten years is a solid run for any independent brewery. This year we've tracked closures across the state, so a sale that keeps the taps flowing and the staff employed would be a real win for Maryland beer.
Keep an eye on this one. In the meantime, head to Snowden River Parkway and show Black Flag some support.
Maryland's Farm Breweries Just Got Room to Grow
Maryland's farm breweries got their biggest upgrade in years this summer. SB 807 was signed by Gov. Wes Moore in May and took effect July 1. It rewrites the rules for the state's Class 8 farm brewery license. If your idea of a good Saturday is drinking a beer next to the field that grew its barley, you're going to notice.
What changes on your next visit
Real food, finally. The old law held farm breweries to a short list of approved snacks (cheese, chili, pizza, prepackaged sandwiches) unless they cleared extra hurdles. Now any food is fair game. It just has to come from a licensed kitchen, a licensed food truck or caterer, or the farm's own cottage-food operation.
More reasons to stick around. Festivals, live music, and private rentals are now explicitly allowed. That covers weddings, birthday parties, fundraisers, and the like.
More Maryland beer on tap. Farm breweries can now pour and sell beer from other Maryland breweries, not just their own.
Hours don't change: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.
What changes for brewers
One regulator. The ATCC's Executive Director now has exclusive regulatory authority over how farm breweries operate. The Director also can't cap visitor numbers beyond what local fire code requires.
No more food-sales ratio. Farm breweries no longer have to match a local Class D license's ratio of food to alcohol sales.
The farm has to be a farm. Licensees must run a working agribusiness and actively offer agritourism.
Zoning relief for the pioneers. Licenses first issued on or before July 1, 2015 are exempt from the zoning-compliance prerequisite. That's good news for early players like Milkhouse Brewery at Stillpoint Farm in Frederick County and Manor Hill in Howard County, the state's first two Class 8 licensees.
Whiskey, too. A new Class 10 farm distillery license is open only to Class 8 holders. It allows up to 100,000 gallons a year of spirits made with a farm-grown ingredient.
Maryland Brings Home Three Medals from GABF 2026
The Great American Beer Festival has measured American brewing since 1982, and the Brewers Association's competition remains the largest professional beer contest in the country. This year's edition looked different, though. After a slide in attendance, the festival shrank from three days to two and moved from the Colorado Convention Center to Denver's outdoor Levitt Pavilion, where medals were handed out on Sunday, October 11.
The competition itself stayed fierce. Roughly 1,300 breweries and cideries sent 7,267 entries across more than 100 style categories, and 225 judges awarded 336 medals to 243 winners. Nationally, Breakside Brewery (Milwaukie, OR) and Goose Island (Chicago) topped their size classes for Brewery of the Year, while Alexandria's Mieza Blendery took the award among the smallest producers.
Maryland's medalists:
Silver Branch Brewing Co. (Silver Spring) – Mundo Especial, Rice Lager – Silver
Eden Town Brewing Co. (Denton) – Tiki Pontoon, Gose – Silver
BabyCat Brewery (Kensington) – Spruce Goose, Herb and Spice Beer – Bronze
That's two silvers and a bronze, with the Eastern Shore and Montgomery County both on the podium. All three are repeat winners. Silver Branch won gold at GABF in 2025, and BabyCat and Eden Town both won silver at the 2026 World Beer Cup this spring.
Congratulations to all three.
The full results are on the GABF 2026 winners page.
Max's Upcoming Events
Max’s Taphouse is a nationally renowned spot for beer enthusiasts of all kinds, and it’s right in the backyard of Maryland beer drinkers. If your calendar has room for only one Baltimore beer bar this season, make it Max's Taphouse at 737 South Broadway in Fells Point. Three of its signature events are on the books between now and early next year, and all are free to enter for anyone 21 and older.
Rare & Obscure returned October 16, through Sunday, October 18, offering “three days of unusual, limited, and downright fascinating beers.”
Still in the queue comes Black Friday, a Thanksgiving-weekend tradition that kicks off at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, November 27, and runs through Sunday, November 29. More details are promised as the date gets closer. “We’re bringing out a seriously stacked lineup of porters, stouts, imperial stouts, barrel-aged beers, and other dark beer monsters - because nothing says “holiday weekend” quite like a 12%+ stout.”
Max's then begins the early next year its biggest event of the year: the 23rd Annual Belgian Beer Festival, set for Friday, February 12, through Monday, February 15, 2027. Max's own announcement asks whether it's too soon to save the date and answers its own question: never. Four days of Belgian beer in the dead of winter is about as good as it gets in Baltimore.
Check maxs.com/events/ for beer lists and updates as events get closer and new ones are announced.
