Maryland brewery plans expansion to Fauquier

Silver Spring, Maryland-based Silver Branch Brewing Co. will invest $3 million to open a location in Fauquier County, adding 38 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday.

The expansion is the second location for the brewery, which is growing its production. Virginia competed with Maryland for the project.

“Silver Branch Brewing Co.’s expansion into Virginia is a testament to the commonwealth’s reputation in food and beverage processing that is driven by our business advantages, industry resources and strategic access to markets,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Manufacturing growth is critical to economic vitality, and we are excited to see its resurgence in regions across Virginia.”

Silver Branch is taking over the Warrenton location of the former Wort Hog Brewing Co., which closed in early 2022. Dubbed “Silver Branch Warrenton Station,” the brewery will feature a restaurant and offer cocktails and wine, along with its craft beer. The brewery will have 18 to 24 rotating taps at each location. The Warrenton location will add between 750 to 1,000 barrels of capacity to Silver Branch’s current projection of 3,000 to 3,5000 produced annually in Maryland, Chris Bonnell, the brewery’s marketing director, said in an email.

“We are excited to join Virginia’s vibrant craft beer community,” Christian Layke, the brewery’s co-founder, CEO and brewing operations director, said in a statement. “I grew up in Vienna and my co-founder, Brett (Robison), is from Great Falls, so bringing our beer into the commonwealth is a lifelong ambition. For us, beer is more than a liquid, it’s a welcoming social experience we call Gemütlichkeit (German for comfort) and it’s essential to our ethos. We look forward to welcoming Virginians into our new tasting room in Old Town Warrenton; but first, we are seeking enthusiastic beer lovers from Fauquier and surrounding counties to join our team.”

Silver Branch’s Warrenton location is anticipated to open in this fall, according to the company’s website.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Fauquier County to secure the project for Virginia and will support Silver Branch’s production-related job creation through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP), which provides consulting services and funding to companies creating jobs to support employee recruitment and training.