USA, MD: Denizens Brewing preparing to open its second location this weekend
Huge block letters on the wall set the tone at Maryland’s second Denizens Brewing Co., which is scheduled to open this weekend inside the growing Riverdale Park Station development between Hyattsville and College Park, Eater reported on May 20.
“We are here to drink beer,” they read, taking a line from Charles Bukowski quote that continues in smaller print on the wall.
There will be plenty to drink at the company’s new production facility and taproom starting Saturday, May 25. The owners say the new site can produce four times as much beer as their original, two-story beer garden that opened in Silver Spring in 2014.
The cavernous, 12,000-square-foot beer hub (4550 Van Buren Street) hopes to cater to young families in Hyattsville and the plethora of thirsty students at the nearby University of Maryland. A to-go fridge at the entrance is stocked with beers and growlers. The Whole Foods that opened across the street two years ago is dry due to county regulations.
“The fact grocery stores can’t sell beer and wine here is annoying to me as a consumer, but as a business owner I am not going to complain,” chief brand officer Julie Verratti says. “You can walk out of Whole Foods, grab a six-pack, and go home.”
Verratti co-owns the business with CEO Emily Bruno (her wife) and chief beer officer Jeff Ramirez, making Denizens the state’s only majority woman- and minority-owned brewery.
The new facility in Prince George’s County will largely be dedicated to churning out four core beers: a 7.2-percent Southside Rye IPA, Born Bohemian Czech-style pilsner, Lowest Lord ESB, and Third Party Belgian-style pilsner. The taproom sports 20 draft lines, and a handful of guest taps will pour beer from industry friends at Anxo Cider and Charm City Mead.
The opening cocktail list includes nine riffs on classics ($8.50-$13). There’s a DMV Negroni built with Greenhat Floral Gin, Capitoline Rose, and Capitoline Tiber; a mojito with Cotton & Reed White Rum; and Iced Irish Coffee using Vigilante Coffee cold brew. A Beermosa (Third Party Tripel and orange juice) is engineered for brunch.
“We are going to buy as much local spirits, beer, wine, and cider as we can,” Verratti says.
Because there’s so much capacity at its expanded brewhouse, production will likely slow down a bit in Silver Spring. The new 30-barrel brewhouse has 60-barrel fermenters; in Silver Spring, the company has a 15-barrel brewhouse with 15-barrel fermenters.
“What is cool about that is in Silver Spring we are able to increase our mixed fermentation and barrel aging program and will have more flexibility in stuff we make,” Verratti says.
The opening food menu features the same globally-inspired bar fare found in Silver Spring, which includes burgers, mussels, meat and cheese plates, and stuffed cheddar puffs. The menu could change at the new location, depending on customer feedback.
There’s only three TVs on-site at its new location (“we aren’t trying to be a sports bar,” Verratti notes). TVs can be used for presentations during buy-outs and parties. Its existing location in Montgomery County has become a hotbed for offbeat events, with a recent dog show fundraiser featuring drag queens as American Idol-style judges.
The expansion dates back nearly two years, when the owners began negotiations with the landlord. They signed a lease in March 2018, and the team closed on its loan in the fall. When construction started in December, there was only gravel floor and no walls.
“We built the entire thing from scratch,” Verratti says. Going the ground-up route came with some advantages, like not having to retrofit the brewery inside an existing space. The new facility boasts operational upgrades not found in Silver Spring, like a massive fridge and a room solely reserved for lab work.
The team strategically set aside room to add more tanks, with plans to cap out at maximum capacity in 10 years. Denizens will make 15,000 barrels a year at most.
“That isn’t small but it’s not huge,” Verratti says. For context, OG D.C. brewery DC Brau hit that stride about two years ago.
Ramping up distribution partnerships across Maryland and D.C. to flood those markets with more beer is the initial goal. Moving into Northern Virginia will come next. Denizens consistently sells its beers to 200 accounts, about half of which are bars.
Branded pint glasses are for sale at the brewery, but the owners are prepared for some of them to go missing at the bar.
“If you are going to steal glasses you might as well be looking at our logo the whole time you are using it,” Verratti says.
23 May, 2019
