This Week's Beer News: Two New Brewery Taprooms!
Powered by saison y cerveza
Two breweries opening to the public in one weekend? What is this, 2017?
It’s always great to share an opening announcement with you, and this weekend we have two new brewery taprooms hitting the scene. Interestingly, both breweries have opened in spaces formerly occupied by other beermakers who have since closed.
Is/Was Brewing’s new taproom is now officially open after some time in soft-open mode. The opening earned coverage from Block Club and Time Out Chicago. After making beer at Marz and Begyle, the new Is/Was space is one of the city’s oldest brewery locations, serving as home base for Metropolitan since 2008 and then for Urban Brew Labs after Metro moved to their riverfront taproom.
Casa Humilde Cerveceria’s new brewery and taproom is now open as well. They took over the space formerly occupied by Exit Strategy Brewing, moving over from their original home at District Brewyards.
Seeing Casa Humilde move into their own space is particularly exciting to me because this is how brewery incubators are (in my mind) supposed to work. Start up in a shared space, build your brand and some capital, gain some experience, and then branch out into your own standalone business. There’s a handful of brewery incubators these days but seeing a beermaker be able to depart the nest is not something that happens often. High five to Javier and Jose for making it happen.
Both brewery locations are now on our Chicagoland Craft Beer Map. If you don’t have this page bookmarked yet, here you go.
(FYI: See below for the most clicked link from last week’s email.)
The new owners of the Cicerone Certification Program announced changes to its syllabi for all four certification levels.
The Daily Southtown paid a visit to One Trick Pony as they prepare to close their current taproom and start the hunt for a new location.
Block Club reported that taproom construction is underway at Lake Effect Brewing Company following their successful fundraising efforts.
We mentioned this on Friday but here’s the press release about AB Mauri North America acquiring Omega Yeast last week.
Fox32 previewed this past weekend’s Micro Brew Review in Oak Park.
Following the recent news of its partnership with Noon Whistle and a new round of venture capital investment, Go Brewing founder Joe Chura gets an extensive profile from the Naperville Sun, which follows him from the manufacturing line at a Ford plant up to the founding of his NA beer brand.
As part of Black Business Month, WBBM Newsradio shared the story of Jay Westbrook (the Black Beer Baron) and Funkytown Brewing’s Zack Day, who came together to create a collaborative beer (with a name inspired by a church sermon) whose proceeds will help send brewers of color to the Siebel Institute.
Illinois State University’s WGLT covered the recent “Sips and Sounds” event which brings symphonic music to breweries like Keg Grove Brewing Company.
Axios Indianapolis cracked open a Sun King pickle beer for a quick review.
Sun King is also in the process of developing a beer “to honor legendary Purdue basketball coach Gene Keady.”
WNDU’s Michiana Eats series pays a visit to Iechyd Da Brewing Company.
Moontown Brewing’s new Carmel taproom is now open. More here.
Big Grove Brewery released a new fruited lager whose proceeds will help plant up to 400 new trees, mostly in Cedar Rapids where a 2020 derecho took out 65% of the area’s tree canopy.
Noreen Otto, Executive Director of the Iowa Brewers Guild, sat down with the Business Record to talk about the state’s “maturing” beer industry.
A new spirits-focused taproom from New Holland is now open in Grand Haven (but they serve beer there too).
A Detroit-based beer bar named Cøllect is moving to a new location on the city’s East Side after their lease ran out on their original space.
Rural Innovation Exchange looks at the community that’s sprung up around Coopersville Brewing Company.
In Grand Haven, Off the Chain Brewstillery is set to open this weekend.
Sorta related to craft: Jones Soda announced three new cannabis-infused drinks to be manufactured in Detroit.
Condolences to the team at Wicked Wort Brewing, whose GM and CFO recently passed from breast cancer at age 37.
Happy 13th anniversary to Castle Danger Brewing.
Friendship Brewing’s third location is now open in Hannibal, right across from the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum.
Axios Cleveland looks at the first light lager from Great Lakes Brewing Company: Cold Rush.
Cleveland’s Butcher and the Brewer are celebrating a decade in business with a luau.
Central Waters is closing in on three years of operation for its Milwaukee brewpub.
USAToday reported on the ten best beers they tried at last weekend’s Great Taste of the Midwest, including a cask marzen from Surly, a Zwickel from New Glarus and a Brandy Old Fashioned seltzer from Hop Butcher.
The Journal Sentinel covered the release of Lakefront’s two pumpkin beers: A pumpkin lager, and a “Brewers' Reserve Imperial Pumpkin” that was barrel-aged for seven years.
Two more players for the Milwaukee Brewers are making their own beers at the Leinenkugel’s Barrel Yard brewery at the ballpark. More here.
Appleton’s Dairy Land Brew Pub is closed and up for sale.
The Tilray/MolsonCoors brewery handoff news made for lots of links this week but we’ll point you to the coverage from the Cannabis Business Times.
Point: In the wake of the Tilray purchase, Paste Magazine’s Jim Vorel asks the question that comes up ever couple of years: Is there any value left in the term “Craft brewer”?
Counterpoint: Tilray-owned Shock Top is the new craft beer sponsor of the Florida Gators.
Most-clicked link in last week’s email: Y’all appeard to be quite interested in the story about the completion of the Stone Brewing/Sapporo $20M expansion.
Thanks for reading! If you’ve made it all the way to the end of this email and you’ve learned something beer-y from this, you should share this with a friend!
Want more? Our Premium Subscribers receive exclusive label previews from around the Midwest on Wednesdays, Premium-only posts and the occasional piece of exclusive news, plus the satisfaction of knowing they’re helping to support this newsletter’s existence. If you want to upgrade to Premium, it’s just a little more than $1 per week:
Don’t forget to subscribe to our socials:
Thank you all for being here!