This Week's Beer News: Last Call for OTP
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Last call: This is the final week to visit Lansing’s One Trick Pony (for now).
The south suburban brewery closes its doors Sunday night, roughly 12 years after we first wrote about them opening in a Lansing industrial park. Attorney Mark Kocol has been a hands-on owner, handling brewing, bottling, delivering sixtels, you name it.
We recently popped in and enjoyed a couple of the very first beers they ever made – the pale ale Spotted Saddle and Hanoverian, a hoppy hefeweizen – which are back on draft, along with Warlander, a 10% triple IPA, and each threads the needle on the respective styles. Kocol was clear from day one they didn’t want to be a “one trick pony” brewery focused on just one style and they’ve always checked that box, offering a diverse range of styles, while never getting caught up in the hyped trend of the moment
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One Trick Pony has served as a starting point – whether supporting Kocol or contract brewing – for several area brewers, even as the brewery moved down the block of that industrial park to a larger space with a cozy outdoor patio.
Plans were announced five years ago to move to an old furniture store in downtown Lansing, but those haven’t progressed much, so this weekend may mark the end of an era for a local brewing scene that has gone from three brewery taprooms in just five square miles (Three Floyds, Windmill, One Trick Pony) to none.
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That alone makes it worth coming by for a final pint, sitting around the fire pit, listening to music from local bands and chowing down on the final weekend menu from the food truck. Sounds like Mark's looking for a new spot nearby, but for now, we're bidding this chapter of OTP a fond farewell.
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Fox32’s Dane Placko talked to both Sketchbook Brewing and Alter Brewing about the JBeers they created to be served at the DNC.
Shaw Local has a big list of local craft beer festivals taking place around the ‘burbs in the coming months, just in case we miss some of these in future Friday emails.
Oak Park’s Wednesday Journal attended this weekend’s Microbrew Review, chatted with brewers and covered the victors.
The results of the annual Honey Beer Competition are in, and because the owner of Excel Brewing kindly emailed to let me know, I’ll share that their Buzzberry Honey Raspberry Ale took silver in the Amber/Brown ale category. Congrats also to Twisted Hippo and Obscurity Brewing for earning medals as well.
Food & Wine Magazine wrote about the new trend towards botanical beers, which included comment from Scratch Brewing.
Wake Brewing hosted an event over the weekend called the Cask & Barrel Beer Festival, which sounds great and I hope I can remember to mention it next year.
WAND-TV reported on the new Destihl/UofI athletics partnership we mentioned on Friday.
After 60 years, Centlivre beers are returning to Fort Worth with the help of 2Toms Brewing. More here.
Northwest Indiana Business Magazine checked out the first beers from Sea of Monsters in Valpo.
Eastern Michigan University announced a collaboration with Eastern Market Brewing Co. and they want your help in naming it.
One Well Brewing celebrates a decade in business with a block party next month.
MLive reported that Crains reported that Founders might be making Garage Beer for the Kelce brothers sometime soon … Premium Subscribers knew a little something about that three weeks ago. Just sayin’.
MLive also covered this weekend’s Burning Foot Beer Festival, with over 100 beverage makers, thousands of attendees and a fairly 90s-esque musical lineup.
Axios went to the beer store and spotted three Southern Tier Pumking variants, so that leads a story about the return of pumpkin everything.
The Star-Tribune looks at the 27 different beverages that Lift Bridge made for the state fair this year. Wow.
Coming soon to Savage in the old Loons Landing brewery space: Savage Tap, a brewery and cocktail bar.
Springfield’s White River Brewing Company has been closed for months for “summer vacation” … but are they coming back? Despite a divorce amongst the owners — and a $14 Million COVID PPD wire fraud case — apparently the answer is still somehow a “yes”?
Not only did Premium Subscribers see Schlafly’s Vanilla Pumpkin Ale label back in late May, but we took a poll as well. Now that the news about that beer has been released, everyone who voted for its release after July 15th in our poll gets to take a victory lap:
A developer killed some historic trees at Forest City Brewery’s beer garden and the brewery is definitely not happy about it.
I haven’t been mentioning all the appearances that Hulk Hogan has been doing to promote his new beer, but this one made the news because he went to some bar called the Thirsty Cowboy and someone pitched a beer can at a woman’s head and she ended up needing nine stitches.
Fifty West Brewing’s new taproom (and pickleball court, apparently) in Mason is now open.
Having Green Day show up at your brewery counts as beer news, right? Billie Joe Armstrong and Tre Cool both visited Lakefront Brewery in advance of their show in MKE over the weekend. They had the fish fry, and Billie Joe has been pretty vocal about his sobriety of late so I’m thinking maybe they tried one of the NA Riverwest Stein ambers?
The Milwaukee Record tasted through a whole bunch of Wisconsin-made Oktoberfest beers including ones from Ope! Brewing and Lion’s Tail.
Isthmus recalled their favorite beers from the recent Great Taste, including ones from O’So, Earth Rider and The Rookery.
The Milwaukee Record’s “Meet a Brewer” segment talks to artist, brewer and native Elgin-ian Jenny Engel of Indeed Brewing Company.
I’m including this Vinepair piece that asked a bunch of drinks professionals “what’s the best macro lager?” solely because I was shocked to discover not one person answered Miller High Life.
Most-clicked link in last week’s email: Casa Humilde’s opening announcement!
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