MINISTRY OF BREWING

Baltimore, MD  |  18,000 sf

Professional Photography by Matt Ryb Pictures

One of our most challenging adaptive re-use projects to date, the Ministry of Brewing is located within the walls of the old St. Michaels Church, developed as the final piece of a larger project converting a Rectory, Girls’ School and Parish Hall into apartments. After touring several church-turned-breweries across the country, we noticed a pattern. Usually the messy, high-production areas were outside of the main sanctuary: in basements, outbuildings, or off-site entirely. On this shared urban site, outside space simply did not exist. All equipment, operations and storage had to be confined to the church itself.  

The project was awarded historic tax credits at the state and federal level, which require proposed changes to be thoroughly reviewed. In addition to the large-scale manufacturing components, new HVAC, restrooms, a commercial kitchen, mill room, lab and bar all had to be accommodated without negatively impacting the historic character of the former church.   

Many years of experience working in historic preservation have taught us that it takes research, communication, and attention to detail. We are proud that these significant changes appear subtle.  In preservation you have succeeded if it appears that you did nothing at all (and that’s a lot harder than it sounds).