New Law Allows Silver Spring Brewery to Sell First Beer

The law allows small breweries to distribute beer directly to retailers and restaurants in Montgomery County.

Andrew Metcalf

via @DenizensBrewing on Twitter

Thanks to a new state law that went into effect Tuesday, Denizens Brewing Co. is now selling beer—in particular its Southside Rye IPA.

Denizens’ new Silver Spring location on East West Highway isn’t yet open for business, so the beer is premiering instead at Republic, a bar in Takoma Park.

Denizens’ owners played a large part in getting the bill passed, encouraging Montgomery County lawmakers to support the law because they believe it will help small breweries succeed here, according to a report on DCBeer.com.

Under the new law, any microbrewery with a Class 7 license can sell its beer in the county without distributing it through the county’s Department of Liquor Control, and that includes small breweries from outside the state. In Maryland, a Class 7 license allows breweries to sell up to 4,000 barrels of beer per year. Large breweries, such as Maryland’s own Flying Dog and Heavy Seas (Clipper City Brewing Co.), hold different licenses and are not permitted to self-distribute under the new law.

Large and small brewers from around the area hailed the law as a step in the right direction that can only help to expand the burgeoning popularity of craft beer in the county, according to DCBeer’s report.

Denizens brewed its Southside Rye IPA at Beltway Brewing Company in Sterling, Va. because the equipment at the Silver Spring brewery isn’t quite ready, according to co-owner Emily Bruno. The beer’s name comes from Denizens’ location in South Silver Spring at 1115 East West Highway, according to the company.

Denizens is planning to open its restaurant and bar area in mid-July, according to Bruno.

Other new laws that went into effect Tuesday include one pushed by Bethesda’s Drybar that allows salons in the county to serve drinks, while another law bans the sale of grain alcohol in the state.