Baltimore-Brewed Beer A Huge Hit At Local Restaurants
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—Ask someone from around here to name a beer brewed in Baltimore and they may have trouble coming up with a name.
As Mike Schuh reports, a recently opened micro-brewery hopes to change that.
On average, Americans drink nearly 19 gallons of beer a year. Almost all of it is made in by big companies in other states.
By the 70s, local brands across the country, and here in Baltimore, were killed by big breweries.
But now, there are more small breweries than ever. Baltimore is the beneficiary.
In the shadow of TV hill, brew master Kevin Blodger is creating 620 gallons of beer. Baltimore beer.
"Union Craft Beers are full of flavor, full of Baltimore, and full of love for the city," Blodger said.
He's able to do what the big brewers won't, starting with the ingredients: malt from Germany, more from England and styles that are more than beer-flavored water.
"So this is our German-style Schwartz beer, which literally means black beer," Blodger said.
It took him, his co-owner, and investors $800,000 to build this brewery.
They only sell kegs, and at the brewery, large bottles called growlers.
But their beer is in 80 restaurants and in every county. Sales have exceeded expectations.
"Sales have been so good that we're ordering a small canning line to can our beer to be sold in liquor stores," Blodger said.
Brewing more than just beer, they are Baltimoreans who believe what they're doing adds richness to our city.
"We wanted to be a neighborhood brewery. People walk down, get their growlers filled up. That's really important to us," Blodger said.
The Union brewery hopes to have their canned beer in area stores by late spring.
