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Highland Brewing lost its Head Brewer to Guinness this week and all we can say is at least it wasn’t to Anheuser-Busch.
A veteran of Highland since 2015, Hollie Stephenson exited the Asheville, North Carolina-based brewery this week to take a major role with Guinness at its new US brewery.
Expected to partially open in early fall, Guinness Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House is being constructed at the former Seagram’s bottling plant in Relay, Maryland.
Modeled after Guinness’s Open Gate Brewery in Dublin and looking to capitalize on the soaring popularity of beer tourism here in America, the new $50 million facility will contain a mid-sized production brewery along with a tasting room, retail store and visitor center.
The new destination brewery will be home to Guinness Blonde American Lager, among other beers but it WILL NOT brew the company’s signature dry stout, which will continue to be brewed in Ireland.
Hollie Stephenson
According to the Mountain Express, Stephenson (who has also brewed for Stone) says that although “she’s excited to join the Guinness team and be part of the iconic brewery’s storied history….it is bittersweet leaving Highland, where she has built up the company’s brand to include many new beers.”
First opened in 1994 Highland Brewing, was Asheville’s first craft brewery and Stephenson was only the third lead brewer in the company’s award-winning history
