This Week's Beer News: O'Fallon is O'Coming Back
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If you’ve ever scanned the aisles for a nice light fruited beer or a pumpkin ale, you probably remember seeing some offerings from O’Fallon Brewing.
Their Wheach beer (wheat+peach) and Pumpkin Ale were reliably decent go-to options since the turn of the millennium, but unfortunately you may also remember that they quietly came to a close at the end of 2024.
Or so we thought. The big news in Midwestern beer this week is the return of O’Fallon thanks to Urban Chestnut, who announced that they’d acquired the full O’Fallon portfolio.
This news comes just weeks after starting to emerge from the cloud of Chapter 11 restructuring themselves with new leadership and a big investment in their facilities. Naturally, UC is starting things back up with the famed Pumpkin Ale in August.
In addition to the O’Fallon news, Urban Chestnut is also going to be home to the second location of Fordo’s Killer Pizza, helmed by famed STL chef Gerard Craft, which strikes me as a big deal in its own right. The Chicago equivalent would be Paul Kahan starting a pizza place and announcing a location in Dovetail’s taproom. (Which, actually, would be pretty rad. Do we have any One Off Hospitality subscribers? I think we’ve got a couple…)
In a time when breweries both young and old seem to be calling it quits left and right, it’s nice - and I’d even say exciting - to see two longtime STL craft brew brands being given some new life to them.
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The Aurora Beacon-News covered the official grand opening of Foreign Exchange Brewing.
The Chicago Tribune took the news of the Sam Adams Brewing the American Dream win as a chance to produce a nice profile of Moor’s Brewing Company, from where they started out in 2021 to their space at Diversey House today.
The Sun-Times hung out at Hopleaf on Canada Day where patrons were showing support for our neighbors to the north.
ABC-7 previews the Square Roots festival which has a bunch of great musical acts in addition to a really good craft beer lineup. Always one of my favorite street fests of the summer.
It’s apparently National Dive Bar Day and Shaw Local Media gives us this roundup of dive bars around Northern Illinois. Lots of cool options to check out including locations in Sycamore, Ottawa and LaSalle as well as some of the ‘burbs.
A new state law went into effect on July 1 that allows underage patrons to enter breweries with a parent or guardian.
Not specifically beer news but seeing Caitlin Clark shotgunning a can of some sort of celebratory beverage (can anyone tell what this is? I can’t) after winning the Commissioners Cup is fun enough to share regardless.
Ever heard of the Iowa City Beer Mafia? A movie shooting this summer aims to tell that story and you may see it screened at a brewery near you.
Bell’s is creating a special “Lager for the Polka” to be served at the Cedar Polka Fest this summer.
This is sponsored content, but you still might find something interesting in this roundup of “10 perfect Michigan beer and food pairings” at breweries like Old Nation, Summerlands and EagleMonk.
The Lansing State Journal also asked local brewers to name the ten best local summer beers, which include offerings from Dimes Brewhouse and Looking Glass Brewing Company.
In the UP, the latest brewery to move into a former church building is appropriately named The Church Brewery.
Palmer’s Bar, a nearly-120-year-old bar in Minneapolis that originally served as “a beer hall for laborers owned by the Minneapolis Brewing Company” that has been named as one of the nation’s greatest dive bars (and has an awesome Grain Belt sign outside) announced plans to close later this year. More here.
In non-O’Fallon news, Quik Trip’s Quittin’ Time beer apparently just hit STL as well.
Coming soon from Midnight Owl Brewing: A fully kosher beer menu.
Grounded Brewing Company announced plans to open in the former Canton Brewing Co. location in downtown Canton.
Did Miller Lite save the brewing industry in Milwaukee? This Journal-Sentinel piece makes that argument.
The J-S also lets their readers know where to get a mliko pour in the Cream City (including Supermoon and New Barons), and that it’s not a mistake to receive a glass full of beer foam.
I always hesitate to include news about Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad in these emails because it’s never actually about the beer, but the guy got arrested again, was charged with harassment (which Bangstad says was a political speech) and then threatened to shut down the town’s 4th of July parade with a peaceful protest. Bangstad said on Facebook yesterday that instead of a protest he actually “trolled the Town of Minocqua in a historic way.” Okay, bud.
I never made it to TRVE Brewing in Denver during my GABF trips but I always wanted to … and now I can’t, as they announced that they’d be closing at the end of this week.
Last week’s most-clicked link: The Block Club story about the famed ph1 barrel now aging beer at Off Color.
In addition to this Monday beer news roundup, we also provide a deep dive into the week’s TTB-approved beverage labels on Wednesdays (for Premium Subscribers only) and an events listing on Fridays (Premium Subscribers also receive a roundup of social news shared by beermakers).
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Karl, much appreciate you including my article for STLMag!