If you live in Baltimore, the next Guinness Blonde you drink was probably brewed down the street.
The first batch of the American lager to be produced at the brand's new Baltimore County brewery rolled out to bars and liquor stores last week, Guinness officials said. And it's headed first to businesses across the Greater Baltimore region.
"This first batch of it was just in our backyard," said Ryan Wagner, an ambassador for the brewery. "We wanted to make sure we took care of our neighbors."
The $80 million Guinness Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House officially opened to the public Aug. 3 on the site of the historic Calvert distillery in Relay and has drawn thousands of people to its taproom since then. A 100-hectoliter brewery on site will be the new production home for Guinness Blonde, which has been brewed in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, since it launched four years ago. The Irish brand's iconic stout continues to be produced in Dublin.
The first shipment of Guinness Blonde comprised between 5,000 and 6,000 cases of beer, Wagner said, and was distributed by Chesapeake Beverage. New packaging includes a "Made in Baltimore" label and an image of the Maryland flag.
Wagner said future shipments will be sent to Washington, D.C., and elsewhere in the region. Eventually, production will be ramped up so that the Baltimore County brewery will produce enough Guinness Blonde to stock shelves throughout the U.S.
"We're going to be sending it across the country as soon as we can get the production level up, packaging, all that stuff," he said.
At the brewery, Wagner said Guinness Blonde has "been selling almost as much as Guinness draft has." The beer has a rating of 3.25 stars out of 5 on Beer Advocate, a beer rating site, with users noting its "bready" scent and "very crisp, almost Belgium-style orange flavor."
"The reaction has been positive (and) I think the branding really helps," Wagner said. "That flag is super important to what we're doing here. But the beer stands up — you can have the most clever packaging in the world, you can tell a great story, but if the beer isn't good it won't be successful."
The brewery has kept pace with its opening weekend, when 10,000 visitors streamed through its doors, and plans to start offering guided tours on Aug. 31, he said.
Scenes from the ribbon cutting Aug. 2 at the Guinness Open Gate Brewery and Barrel House in Baltimore County, the first Guinness brewery on American soil in more than 60 years.