Guinness to Shutter Baltimore Brewery, Citing Rising Costs and Shifting Demand

(Photo: Guinness)

British alcohol giant Diageo is closing its Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore, Maryland, as it moves forward with an aggressive $1 billion global savings initiative. The company says that the facility will wind down operations by the end of the year, and that its last day open to the public will be Nov. 1.

“This was not a decision we made lightly,” a Diageo spokesperson said in a statement, according to the Washington Business Journal. “We are proud of what was built in Baltimore, thankful for everyone who contributed to its success, and committed to supporting our employees and community as we move forward.”

The Baltimore Open Gate Brewery focused on small-batch, experimental beers rather than the classic Irish stouts imported from Dublin. When it opened in 2018, it was the iconic beer maker’s first stateside brewing operation in over 60 years.

Diageo reportedly invested around $90 million into the site, which included a 10-barrel experimental brewhouse, a 100-hectoliter production brewery and a tourist-friendly layout complete with a taproom, restaurant and outdoor beer garden. More than 100,000 people visited the facility in its first three months, and roughly 400,000 over its first year.

The brewery’s fortunes took a turn in June 2023, right as the global alcohol market was beginning to falter from an unprecedented post-COVID-era peak.

Diageo halted commercial manufacturing and packaging at the Baltimore facility, shifting production elsewhere and transitioning the site entirely into a hospitality destination. The conglomerate later sold 63 acres of the surrounding property, reducing the site to its current 12-acre footprint.

The site’s hospitality manager, Aramark, says that 174 of its employees will be impacted by the closure, telling Beer Street Journal that it’s “working to identify opportunities in other areas of our organization where possible.”

Diageo is establishing a $250,000 community fund to support local organizations focused on economic opportunities within the hospitality industry. The company has not disclosed how many, if any, of its employees are expected to be laid off, though it’s understood that Aramark was responsible for the majority of workers at the Baltimore Open Gate Brewery.

Once the closure is finalized, Chicago will become home to the sole Guinness brewery in the United States. The Illinois location is also known as an Open Gate Brewery and focuses on a similar combination of restaurant and experimental taproom.

Popular as Guinness may be, it isn’t immune to industry headwinds faced by parent company Diageo, the very same behind Johnnie Walker, Don Julio and Casamigos.

In August, Diageo CEO Sir Dave Lewis — frequently referred to as “Drastic Dave” — announced that his company is pursuing a sweeping three-year restructuring plan aimed at cutting approximately $1 billion in costs. Later that month, the conglomerate disclosed that it had cut nearly 2,000 jobs in its most recent financial year.