Maryland Microbrewery Festival Returns to Union Mills for Its 19th Year

The Union Mills Homestead will host the 19th Annual Maryland Microbrewery Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., bringing Maryland craft breweries, live music, food and craft vendors to the historic Carroll County site at 3311 Littlestown Pike in Westminster.

The festival serves as the culminating event of Carroll County Beer Week and is organized by the nonprofit Union Mills Homestead Foundation, with proceeds supporting the preservation, operation and interpretation of the Homestead. "The Maryland Microbrewery Festival brings together three things that are deeply connected to our state's identity: local craftsmanship, local agricultural products, and Maryland history," event chair David Shriver said in a press release announcing the festival. "We look forward to welcoming visitors back to Union Mills Homestead for a day that supports our state's independent breweries while helping preserve this important historic site."

Advance tickets are $25 for adults sampling beer and $8 for non-sampling guests; tickets purchased at the gate cost $30 for sampling and $10 for non-sampling admission. Children younger than 12 get in free. The festival's website describes admission as limited and sold first-come, first-served. The event is open to all ages.

The festival's centerpiece is sampling from a lineup of Maryland breweries, offering attendees a chance to try a range of styles and talk with the brewers themselves. Neither the Union Mills Homestead Foundation's press release nor the festival's own event listing named specific participating breweries as of this week.

Beyond the beer, organizers are planning continuous live music, food vendors, artisans selling crafts and merchandise, and educational seminars on brewing. According to the festival's Eventbrite listing, the entertainment lineup includes the Gayle Harrod Band, AMPS211 and Ebb & Nova.

Tied to the festival is a BJCP-sanctioned homebrew competition that draws entrants from across Maryland and neighboring states, held in the Homestead's historic mill. This year's competition is limited to American beer styles from the BJCP's 2021 style guidelines, a theme organizers tied to the United States' 250th anniversary.

The festival's event page describes "ample parking, both onsite and at the satellite parking lot," and encourages carpooling; the festival's Eventbrite listing separately advertises free parking. The Eventbrite listing also notes that house and mill tours will not be available on festival day, and that all ticket sales are final.

Founded in 1797 and home to six generations of the Shriver family, Union Mills Homestead is a historic landmark and museum of American rural culture in Carroll County. The property includes the original homestead, a functioning grist mill, a blacksmith shop and other historic structures reflecting Maryland's agricultural, industrial and Civil War history. It has been operated since 1964 by the nonprofit Union Mills Homestead Foundation.