Standing in the 22,000-square-foot Dundalk facility, Key Brewing founder Ray Schissler took a swig from a can of beer straight from the production line. Though he was feeling overwhelmed by all that remains to be done as he relocates his company to Baltimore — have you ever tried moving several tons of stainless steel brewing equipment? — he was also optimistic about the future.

“The windshield’s bigger than the rearview mirror for a reason,” he said.

Based in Baltimore County for nearly a decade, Key Brewing is moving to East Baltimore, where it will share a home with Monument City Brewing at 1 N. Haven Street. Schissler said the decision to relocate has nothing to do with the collapse of the nearby Key Bridge six months ago. Rather, his landlord, a cattle feed importer, didn’t want to renew his lease on the building.

“I don’t like to fail,” Schissler said. “This was a path forward. I followed that path instead of saying, ‘Just shut it down.’”

Schissler and longtime friend Ken Praay, owner of Monument City, actually began talking about a potential partnership about a year ago. The move, they agreed, could help both businesses navigate the increasingly treacherous landscape of craft beer brewing, allowing them to share overhead expenses and thereby increase savings.

“When we’re buying cans, we’re buying in larger quantities, so the price comes down,” Schissler said.

Aside from Key’s lease issues, both brewers face a challenging business landscape for brewing. Schissler pointed out that when he started Key about 10 years ago, there weren’t many craft breweries in Maryland. Now, he says, the number has increased to five times its size.

The brewing industry is “way overbuilt” right now, said Heavy Seas founder Hugh Sisson, with too many breweries and a declining interest in alcoholic beverages. When facilities sit unused, that’s lost income. In sharing a space, Sisson said, Monument and Key can ensure their production line is running as much as possible.

“I think its a very wise move on their part,” Sisson said. “We will see probably a lot more of this.”

Last year, Maryland’s Flying Dog Brewery was sold to FX Matt Brewing Co. in upstate New York while DuClaw Brewing Co. got bought by a brewer in New Jersey. Pariah Brewing Co. shut down in Hampden earlier this year while Diageo shuttered the Baltimore County plant that produced Baltimore Blonde last year. So many breweries are shutting down that old equipment and furniture, Schissler said, is going for a tiny fraction of what it’s worth at auction.

“All the chairs in here might go for 100 bucks,” he said, gesturing to Key Brewing’s taproom.

“It has been a challenging environment since COVID,” Praay said. “In Maryland it has been tough for us craft brewers. You’ve got to be creative and find opportunities to be successful.” A video promoting the move featured Praay and Schissler toasting glasses of beer, saying in unison they are “stronger together.”

Both brands will remain independent as part of what Schissler said is a strategic partnership, not a merger. He thinks that Key and Monument City attract different types of drinkers — his are more blue collar while Monument City’s are more of the hipster ilk — and will produce different types of brews so as not to step on each other’s toes.

They’re working on a new name for the joint tasting room that will reflect both companies. (Praay disputed that Monument City caters to hipsters, saying their focus is on crafting high-quality ales. Their signature brew pays homage to Maryland’s heritage of rye production.)

While Schissler has already begun winding down production at the Key Brewing facility in Dundalk as equipment moves to Highlandtown, the tasting room will continue to serve customers until later this month. Online, a few griped about the loss of a beloved Baltimore County watering hole.

“This blows,” said one. “I hate Baltimore city.”

But Schissler hopes they’ll get over it. After all, it’s just a 14-minute drive from Dundalk to North Haven Street.