Denizens Brewing Company is closing its original taproom in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, on Oct. 22, after a decade at that location.
Denizens co-founder Julie Verratti says the brewery’s 10-year lease has come to an end, and they have decided not to renew. Denizens will now focus on its much larger location in Riverdale Park, which it opened in four years ago.
Denizens is credited with opening the doors for other craft brewers in Maryland by working to remove restrictive barriers for local beer production and distribution. When it opened in Silver Spring in 2014, it was the first production brewery in Montgomery County.
In 2015, Denizens was recognized by the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce with its Spirit of Free Enterprise Award for advocating for law changes that knocked down barriers of entry for small businesses in the county.
The Riverdale Park location has grown to a production capacity of 15,000 barrels per year. The 12,000-square-foot venue also includes 9,000 square feet of production space and a 150-seat taproom.
We’ve got some news to share… pic.twitter.com/AdntkfOkXx
— Denizens Brewing Co. (@DenizensBrewing) September 5, 2023
The Riverdale Park site is just a stone’s throw from the University of Maryland’s College Park campus.
“We opened this much larger production facility in 2019, and since then we’ve really poured our heart and soul into this place,” Verratti said in a social media post. “We’re continuing to make fresh, local beer and creating a warm, welcoming neighborhood vibe that you’re used to in Silver Spring that we’re building upon here in Riverdale Park, Maryland.”
Denizens has brewed more than 150 beers and hard seltzers over the years, served both through its own taps and those of area bars and restaurants, plus canned and bottled retail sales.
Denizens is one of the region’s few woman- and minority-owned craft brewers. Verratti co-owns the business with her wife Emily Bruno and Chief Beer Officer Jeff Ramirez.
