Denizens Brewing Company is one-year old this week. Happy Anniversary!

When we find ourselves thirsty for a beer on a nice day in Silver Spring, we head to the end of East-West Highway just before it meets Georgia Avenue. There is usually a crowd – young and old and even some families – sitting on picnic tables, eating BBQ, and playing games of corn hole with cold beers in their hands. It’s like a big family picnic, but with much better brew. This is the huge 200-seat outdoor beer garden at Denizens Brewing Company.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a denizen is an inhabitant, or one that frequents a place. This place has a lot of those. In just one year, Denizens has become the regular meeting place of Silver Spring’s young professionals. Denizens is co-owned by Silver Spring locals Julie Verratti and Emily Bruno, along with Brewmaster Jeff Ramirez and marketing manager Taylor Barnes.

The owners of the DC food truck BBQ Bus have partnered with Denizens, serving up barbecue from their full service kitchen inside of the Denizens space. You can get small plates, picnic plates, and sandwiches of their smoked ribs, brisket, pulled pork and chicken.

Denizens has ten beers on tap, including their five flagship beers along with rotating seasonal drafts. For $9 you can get a tasting sampler of four beers. We like that we can try small pours of several beers to find the one that suits the mood of the day. All beers are $6.50 for a full pour. Need a lot of beer? They’ll fill up a growler for you.

Last October, local beer expert Garrett Peck joined Thrillist for a comprehensive tasting of Denizens beers, including the five that they regularly have on tap. His tasting notes are worth a look.

They have the capacity to produce about 2200 barrels a year, selling it out of their taproom and to other bars in Maryland and DC. They’ve released 26 beers in their first year. Their plans for the year ahead include increasing distribution and a new rotating menu with fresh seasonal food. They shared the news in this Washington Post article earlier this week.

Denizens has brought life to an area of Silver Spring that is on the edge of the new downtown; and given locals a place to relax with friends, listen to live music, and enjoy craft beers. Last spring before they opened, Bruno told the Gazette, “We were looking for more in nightlife and entertainment options, and decided we could provide a place where we would want to go.” It looks like they have achieved their goal.

If you are visiting Denizens, this would be a good time to try some more of the many restaurants in Silver Spring. Check out our Silver Spring Food Crawl.

Denizens Brewing Company

1115 East-West Hwy, Silver Spring, MD
(301) 557-9818
Mon – Thurs: 4 PM to 11 PM • Fri: 3 PM to 1 AM
Sat: 1 PM to 1 AM • Sun: 1 PM to 10 PM

Brewery Tours on Saturdays at 4 PM and 5:30 PM, $10 per person including tasting. Sign up online