Bartender Alex Rodriguez fills a glass of beer at Pariah Brewing Company in Baltimore, Md. on February 3, 2022.

The San Diego-based Pariah Brewing Company launched its soft opening on Jan. 21 in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood to great enthusiasm. This is the second location of the San Diego-based brewery. 

Christa Mitchell, Pariah’s co-owner and chief operating officer, said she knew she was moving to a city that supported local breweries, but she didn’t expect so many people to visit the bar at the beginning.

“Baltimore kicked our ass straight up for soft opening,” Mitchell said. “We were totally underprepared for the amount of support.”

Mitchell and her husband, Brian, decided to open the Baltimore location as a way of expanding brewing capacity and their customer base. It was also a good excuse for her husband and Pariah’s distribution manager, both Maryland natives, to move closer to home.

When the Mitchells looked at the former home of another local brewery, Union Craft Brewing, they knew they found the right spot.

“We hit our maximum production in San Diego in about November of 2020,” Mitchell said. “We knew that we wanted to go East Coast to continue to establish as a bicoastal brewery and magic just kind of happened.”

Mitchell said she looks forward to what Pariah can contribute to Baltimore’s beer landscape. The brewery is known for its colorful cans and unique flavors, like Colors, an IPA with orange juice, cantaloupe and bubblegum flavors.

“You could go to four different breweries in the area and get four different great beers and styles of beers,” Mitchell said. “But it’s nice that ours still brings some diversity to that portfolio.”

The brewing company’s new home is equipped with state of the art brewhouse equipment, canning machines and cold storage for kegs and cans. But, according to Mitchell, the most important part of the 6,800-square-foot space is the bar. 

“We really focus on three parts,” Mitchell said. “Beer is the third part, we want to have wonderful beer for you to enjoy. But before that, for us is service and ambience. So we want a space that you like and we want bartenders that are going to give you the education that you need, and also just a good conversation”

Pariah will release its first Baltimore-produced cans on Feb. 5, including a new fruit candy-flavored IPA called Fun Yum. The brewery’s grand opening will be on Feb. 11, the company’s fifth anniversary.