Anyone who has driven on 83 these past several months has seen a giant black-and-white sign sprawled across the former Sears Roebuck warehouse that reads “Future Home of Union Craft Brewing and the Union Collective.” Now that future is looking much more present.
 

With beer tanks in, climbing walls erected, and nearly all eight vendors confirmed, the 138,000-square-foot makerspace and brewery home of Union Craft is becoming a reality.  

“It’s been amazing to see the level of hard work, passion, and creativity it has taken from all involved to get to this point,” says Union co-owner Adam Benesch. “We are excited to see the impact the project is going to make on our community and businesses that make up the collective.”

The collective is made up of Union Craft Brewing and eight other local vendors, some using the space as their main headquarters, others as a manufacturing location, and almost all as a storefront. There are still two open slots left and owners are excited to complete the roster. 

“We continue to search for the best and brightest growing Baltimore-based businesses,” Benesch says. “We look forward to finding the perfect fit for the last of the available space.”
 

Until then, though, these confirmed vendors have plenty in store for tenants as they gradually begin to open throughout the spring and summer.
 

Well-Crafted Pizza: The mobile pizza business, which was started by two couples, is known for its kitchen built on the back of a 1949 Dodge truck. Coinciding with the brewery’s opening this summer, Well Crafted will have a new 920-square-foot kitchen in the taproom itself serving its signature wood-fired pizzas, as well as kabobs, sausages, stuffed potatoes, and soft pretzels.  

Earth Treks: Most likely the first to open in the space, this rock-climbing mecca will be the first of its kind in the city include an exclusive space for bouldering, and also have a yoga studio for patrons.
 

The Charmery: This beloved Hampden corner ice cream spot (with a location in Anneslie on the way) will have its 5,500-square-foot factory headquartered inside Union Collective. The additional room will allow for more production, as well as themed events and famous “guest scoopers.”
 

Baltimore Whiskey Company: On the heels of releasing its 100-proof Epoch rye whiskey, which has been aging in oak barrels for three years, the BWC will be moving into Union Collective this spring. The facility will use a sustainable, geothermal system to cool its pipes using ground water, the first of its kind in the region.  

Huckle’s: Also opening this spring will be a test kitchen and storefront for beloved local hot sauce company Huckle’s. Besides making its signature spicy sauces like Fire-Roasted Habanero and Original Honion, the company will be co-packaging with other small-batch businesses in town.  

Vent Coffee Roasters: With her first brick and mortar location opening at Union Collective in early spring, longtime barista Sarah Walker is eager to have a permanent home. Vent will feature a small-batch roaster and espresso bar with seating for up to 45 people to enjoy espresso drinks, nitro cold brew on tap, coffee mocktails, and options for Aeropress and Chemax. Look out for homemade pastries and other drinks from local Wight Tea Co.  
 

Union Craft Brewing: Of course, the pièce de résistance of the collective will be Union Craft Brewing, which is looking to triple the capacity of its current Woodberry home. There will also be a 7,500-square-foot taproom with a stage for live music, a private event space, and a glass wall that looks through to the brewing equipment. There will also be an outdoor beer garden with a living wall, modular walls to reconfigure the space, and games like bocce.  
 
 
 

When Union Craft Brewing landed on the scene nearly five years ago, its founders had two main goals: make great beer and create a community.

With lines curving around its facility for taproom events, signature cans of Duckpin being cracked at seemingly every festival, and the Union logo becoming a ubiquitous Baltimore symbol, the brewery clearly accomplished its mission. And now, more than 10 million beers and 30,000 barrels later, it’s ready for a new beginning.

Union Craft is relocating its brewery and taproom to a nearby facility at 1700 W. 41st Street with buildout beginning in July. Comprising a total of 138,000 square feet, the space will allow triple the brewing capacity, a 7,500-square-foot taproom and event space, and a new makerspace and marketplace called Union Collective.

“It feels like we’re starting the whole thing over again in many ways,” says Jon Zerivitz, who co-founded Union with Kevin Blodger and Adam Benesch. “Though it is sad to leave where we started, we have grown so it’s becoming more stifling to be in a small space with limitations. We’re excited to take those shackles off.”

The new site—formerly a Sears Roebuck warehouse and Hedwin manufacturer—allows for an initial production capacity of 30,000 barrels expandable to over 70,000 barrels if needed. Brewers will be moving from a 20-barrel to a 60-barrel system and will also expand the quality control lab. Finding a facility this size while staying in the neighborhood was one of the biggest challenges.

“Our priority has always been to be within a residential area of the city,” Zerivitz says. “Now that we needed a lot more space, it’s been extra difficult. We are just incredibly thankful and relieved that we found our permanent home in the area where it all started.”

But one of the most innovative aspects of the brewery’s new 41st Street location is the founding of Union Collective—an 87,000-square-foot space adjacent to the brewery that will be home to eight additional makers, nonprofits, and small businesses who will produce and sell their products on site. 

The project is being executed in partnership with Seawall Development, the firm behind Remington Row and R. House. Similar to incubators like BMore Kitchen and Open Works, the goal of Union Collective is for these businesses to share resources, collaborate, and connect.

“We are particularly excited to be able to do something that a brewery normally wouldn’t do,” Zerivitz says. “Rather than these small businesses going off and trying to do their own thing anonymously, we want to bring them into the fold. We want to take the community concept of craft beer culture and apply it to all businesses.”

In coming up with the concept, Union’s staff drew inspiration from various breweries around the country—including Crooked Stave in Denver and Surly in Minneapolis—when thinking about architecture and taproom design. Construction is slated to start July 1, with the idea of tenants moving in late 2017 and brewing to begin spring 2018.

But first, in classic Union style, the brewery has to throw one last party. To celebrate its fifth anniversary and say goodbye to Union Avenue, it will host legendary Baltimore rockers Big in Japan on August 5.

“They haven’t played together in 10 years, but they have influenced and spawned so much Baltimore music since they disbanded,” Zerivitz says. “Reuniting them feels like the biggest, baddest send off we could do.”

Thinking ahead, the brewers are excited about what the new facility could mean for the local economy in one of the top five fastest growing markets for craft beer sales in the country. With its new project, Union’s founders expect to create more than 100 jobs in the next seven to 10 years.

“The opportunity arose to create a new space that could offer each of us room to grow in a functional and collaborative way,” says Benesch. “It became apparent how meaningful this project could be—to us, our city, and the broader region.”