Diageo and Guinness executives cut the ribbon on the Guinness Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House in Halethorpe, Maryland. Credit: PRNewsfoto/ Diageo Beer Company USA.

Diageo Beer Company has opened a new brewery in Maryland, US.

Called the Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House, the project involved an investment of $90m.

Located ten miles from downtown Baltimore and 30 miles northeast of Washington DC, the brewery will help produce Guinness Blonde beer and other new Guinness beverages for the US market.

Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House will feature a visitor centre and include packaging and warehousing operations. It will offer 200 employment opportunities in the region.

Diageo Beer Company USA chairman and Diageo Global chief sales officer Tom Day said: “This brewery has long been a dream for Guinness, and an incredible amount of hard work has gone into getting these doors open.

“I’m proud that we have created something special and quintessentially Guinness here in Maryland.”

“I can’t wait to see people enjoying the fantastic beer our brewers have made in this historic and beautiful building. I’m proud that we have created something special and quintessentially Guinness here in Maryland.”

The Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House is reported to be the first Guinness brewing operation in the US after a period of six decades and will also be home to a ten-barrel brewhouse and a 100-hectoliter brewhouse, which will brew and ferment different styles of beer.

The ten-barrel system will be a small-batch experimental brewery, while the 100-hectoliter system will initially brew Guinness Blonde for national distribution.

The majority of beers will be taproom exclusives, while a few brews will be distributed to Maryland and Virginia.