This Week's Beer News: The Vibes are Back
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Can you feel it? The Vibes from the Heartland are emanating from Naperville this week.
Back in February, you might remember that we chatted with Solemn Oath Hospitality & Event Manager Charolette Converse about her big collaborative beer project, Vibes Since 1920. When we spoke with her last about the project, she told us that “there are plans to take this further,” and this week, those plans become reality.
Round two of the project kicks off Friday as “100+ woman, non-binary and trans persons working in the Midwest craft beer industry” from five Midwestern states will descend on Naperville to brew “a one-of-a-kind beer to support local diversity and women’s initiatives.” (The fact that I’m quoting from a press release provided by the Guild speaks to how big this has gotten in just a few months!)
Everyone’s getting together to brew a new beer called Vibes from the Heartland, a West Coast pilsner helmed by Phase Three’s Ashley Benson. According to that release, proceeds from the first beer brought in over $4,000 and those funds “benefitted diversity and inclusion initiatives by the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, including its annual scholarship program.”
Pretty cool to see this keep going and growing. Grab some when you see it.
There was plenty of coverage this week regarding Yuengling’s entry into Illinois next year; here’s the Tribune’s story but there’s plenty of other people who got the memo as well.
Patch.com covered the recent brand change of Ravinia Brewing Co. to Steep Ravine Brewing.
Axios Chicago covered the news of Greg Hall getting back full control of Virtue Cider.
The Chicago Reader’s Best of Chicago awards are open for votes; cast yours for Best Local Brewery, Best Local Beer, Best Beer Garden and Best Beer Shop.
Macomb’s Forgottonia Brewing announced that they’ll close at the end of the month after five years in business.
In Rockford, “A new battery-energy storage system in downtown will hold power generated by solar panels at Prairie Street Brewing Co. and its surrounding buildings for use when the sun isn’t shining.”
A few months after shutting it down, Terre Haute Brewing Company has reopened their taproom.
Studebaker Brewing is now operating out of their new facility in New Carlisle.
Will Exile Brewing’s Ruthie Lager live on? The long-running lawsuit between the brewery and Ruthie’s family has been settled but Exile declined to comment on future plans for the award-winning beer.
The announcement of Waypost Brewing’s closure got coverage from Fox 2 Detroit and MLive.com.
MLive also covered this weekend’s Eccentric Day at Bell’s in Kalamazoo.
Speaking of Bell’s, their Upper Hand brand is being sold to a California-based beverage company called Seven Beverages.
Wow, that’s a lot of Xmas lights at Watermark Brewing.
Well, this is concerning: “A massive dip in barley production this year points to potential problems in the beer business” … “Minnesota barley farms produced less than half as much in 2024 as the year before, signaling potential trouble ahead.”
The Kansas City Star reported on the efforts of Vine Street Brewing to bring back the Henry Armstrong Lager.
After being acquired by Cincinnati Beverage, Taft’s Brewing Company is shutting down its Brewpourium taproom - the third space it’s closed in the last couple of years.
This year’s barrel-aged Blackout Stout from Great Lakes Brewing Company has made its way into distribution for the year.
Fat Head’s brewed A Special Wish hazy IPA to help support A Special Wish Foundation Northeast Ohio.
Beers from Madison’s Giant Jones Brewing Co. are about to hit Milwaukee.
After 11 years in business, Bay View’s Enlightened Brewing announced that they’ll be closing in early January.
Starting with Forest City in Cleveland, InsideHook has a story about why an increasing number of brewery taprooms are banning children.
Most-clicked link in last week’s email: Not surprisingly, the story about the Wisconsin bar where live chickens and cocaine were found topped the list of clicked links.
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