Guinness Opengate Brewery, Baltimore

We visited the Baltimore location of Guinness Brewery, the famous Irish brand that ships worldwide from Dublin but does in fact have breweries across the globe. We arrived in time to take a tour on a sunny and pleasant day.

Opengate Brewery

Other breweries are available

The brewery has a large open area with tables, tents, and fire pits--lots of places to hang out and enjoy your time. They have an old-style delivery truck that has taps on the side. It's not actually in use, but makes a nice photo op.

Our next vehicle?

Before the tour, we saw a display about the art of barrel-making. Wooden barrels were used by Guinness (and all brewers) until the advent of metal kegs in the mid-twentieth century. 

Tools of the trade

Various barrels

Barrels came in a variety of sizes. Due to the hand-crafted nature of the barrels, no two were exactly the same size, though a practiced cooper would get them very close.

Choose your portion

When the factory in Dublin transitioned to metal barrels (which also came in a variety of sizes), the owners wanted to keep the coopers in business. They started crafting household items and furniture, some from used barrels!

I would totally buy a barrel-chair!

New-fangled metal barrels

Before the tour, the guide encouraged us to get a drink to take along the way. I went to the bar where they had a surprising variety of brews to try. I sampled the chai stout and the Earl Grey brown ale. I went with the chai since I liked the flavor better.

Chai stout in a chalice!

The tour was a lot of fun, walking through the process of making beer and telling the history of the company in general and the Baltimore brewery in particular. We sampled some of the basic ingredients. The guide also explained how Baltimore was chosen in part for the quality of water (which surprised me that it was so good). Another factor in the decision was the land and buildings that were available.

Describing ingredients

We were not in the main brewery but still had the chance to see a brewer in action. 

Can you find the brewer?

An easier challenge

More of the factory floor

Freaky hybrid barrels?

Cans waiting to be filled

The building was previous used by Seagram's to make hard liquors like rum and whiskey. They still have some of the old valves on display.

Interactive part of the tour

The sign from the previous owners

After the tour was done, we went up to the bar for another drink and a snack. I finally tried the Baltimore Blonde, which was a little too hoppy for me. We ordered our favorite appetizer, a pretzel with beer cheese (and also mustard, though that is not our favorite part). It was delicious.

Blonde in a pint

Maybe a smiley face?

The visit was a lot of fun and the tour was free, so it was definitely worth doing. They have an expansive gift shop that even includes engraving! We did not buy anything but were very interested in some of the recipes from the Guinness cookbook. The recipes that tell you to add a "Baltimore Blonde" sound a little cannibalistic!