USA, MD: Silver Branch Brewing Co. slated to open in mid- to late January in Silver Spring

Silver Branch Brewing Co. is slated to open in mid- to late January in downtown Silver Spring, slightly later than its owners’ planned debut in late 2018, BethesdaMagazine.com reported on November 30.

The brewery will be the third in the area, joining Denizens Brewing Co. on East West Highway and Astro Lab Brewing, which opened at 8216 Georgia Ave. in October. The company was founded in January 2017 under the name Parallel World Brewing Co. by co-owners Christian Layke, 46, and Brett Robison, 30, who leased a first-floor space at 8401 Colesville Road on Metro Center Plaza in September 2017.

“We love Silver Spring as a neighborhood, in part because we live here, but also because it’s very diverse, appears to be growing, has two other breweries and there is no shortage of demand for good beer,” Robison said in an email.

Layke is a former brewer at Gordon Biersch in Rockville, while Robison was previously a general manager at Republic, an eatery in Takoma Park. The co-owners were aiming for an opening later this year, but pushed it to January due to delays in permitting, plus a long wait for structural explorations and design changes that slowed construction. Robison said they plan to install their brewhouse just before Christmas.

Silver Branch Brewing will offer selections from Belgium, the British Isles, Central Europe and the U.S., the four brewing regions that explained its original namesake and logo, which was changed for legal reasons. Robison said the brewery plans to serve Chronicle, Tropical Stout and Quantum Shift when it opens, but he and Layke haven’t finalized the rest of the selections.

“It’s a goal of ours to always have a solid representation from each of these beer cultures,” Robison said. “We’re working out the details of the other beers we’ll have for our starting lineup, but you can expect we’ll have a good representation from each of the four major brewing cultures.”

In September, beer drinkers were able to taste Silver Branch Brewing products at the Takoma Foundation’s 10th annual Beerfest.

The brewery is expected to have a beer hall and café along with a traditional bar and a barrel room for private functions. It will sell light snacks and recommend that customers bring their own food.

“Our greatest hope is that everyone starts to think of Silver Spring as a brewery destination and that we can draw in tourism and weekend traffic for craft beer lovers as well as meet the needs of our neighbors,” Robison said.

03 December, 2018