Howard County entrepreneurs Randy and Mary Marriner aren't afraid to try something different or take a risk, and starting the county's first on-farm microbrewery certainly qualifies.
But thanks to the county's Economic Development Authority and County Executive Allan Kittleman, the couple, who own Columbia's Victoria's Gastro Pub, won't have to do it alone.
The Marriners have received a $200,000 loan from the county to help launch the new business, which Randy said he hopes to have operational in March. The brewery is being constructed inside a 7,200-square-foot barn at Manor Hill Farms in Ellicott City, a small 54-acre working farm owned by the Marriners, who also live on the property.
"Any time you are first in anything, you are charting new ground," Randy Marriner said inside the barn.
He added that the county "has been a tremendous partner" in helping the new business navigate the process.
Kittleman, who visited the farm Friday to present a check for the loan, called the Marriners "exciting and energetic entrepreneurs" and commended them for taking the risk.
"We have to expand our commercial tax base, and the only we can do that without raising taxes is expanding economic development," he said.
He added: "Agriculture is a very important sector of the economy in Howard County, and we are constantly looking for ways to support innovation on our farms."
The loan comes from the authority's Catalyst Loan Program, which is available for small businesses. Authority spokesman Terry Owens said Manor Hill Farms was selected from an application process in August.
Larry Twele, president and CEO of the authority, said it liked the business for a variety of reasons, including the agricultural ties and its link to the craft beer boom.
"The craft brewing industry is a growing trend," Twele said. "We are finding more of that market demand and more of our local workforce is looking for those kind of restaurants and those kinds of beers."
In the past year alone the county has added its first two microbreweries: Jailbreak Brewing Co. in North Laurel and Black Eyed Susan Brewing Co. in Columbia. There are other successful breweries in the area as well, most notably Union Craft Brewing and Clipper City Brewing Co., both based in Baltimore.
"People don't walk in anymore and ask for a Budweiser," Randy said. "The beer industry is exploding and they are so flavorful, and there is so much variety. There are thousands of flavors of beer."
Farm to glass
The brewery, called Manor Hill Brewing, will have the capacity to produce 3,000 barrels a year, although Marriner expects to produce around 1,000 the first year. The beer will be brewed using hops farmed from two acres of land at the farm.
He said the equipment is coming in January and that they hope to have their first batches in the hopper in March, with distribution coming in April. In the beginning, Marriner said he only plans to sell kegs of the beer, meaning he won't can or bottle it.
Marriner said four of the 24 taps at Victoria's Gastro Pub, located off Snowden River Parkway, will be devoted to the farm's beers. He also said he will sell the beer at a new restaurant he is planning at Clarksville Commons, a mixed-use development planned at the site of the Old Gateway School being developed by GreenStone Ventures LLC.
The new restaurant will be called FoodPlenty; the tag line for the joint is "serving comfort food daily," and Marriner said it will have a focus on local growers and producers in Howard County.
"We really want to be as local as possible," he said of the new restaurant, which he expects to open in 2016.
The brewery has hired Ben Little as head brewer, and although he is working on samples, the Marriners have not decided on the names and flavors for their first line.
Little said he expects there to be "hop forward" beers, a term used to describe hop-heavy beers that tend to be more refreshing and bitter.
"We are going to be unique and authentic in what we do, and definitely try some fun and interesting stuff," Little said.
Marriner said he would like to see a Belgian beer, a personal favorite, but he understands they have to stick to what sells.
"The IPAs and the hop forward beers, that's what is running off the shelves," he said.
Marriner has plans to convert an old RV into a mobile marketing and sales truck for the business. He said it will travel to beer festivals, farmers markets and other places selling growlers and spreading the word about the brewing company.
But there aren't any plans to have a tasting room or brewery tours of the facility, Marriner said, because of privacy concerns associated with living on a residential street.
"It wouldn't be very neighborly," he said.
The farm brewery is the first in the county and one of the first in the state since a 2012 law change allowed local farmers to brew up to 15,000 barrels annually on site.
Marriner said he stumbled upon the farm brewery concept while championing another beer-related bill in 2012 that allowed restaurants, like his, to sell bottled growlers on site.