This Week's New Beer Labels: Mallcore Edition
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First, a little bit of breaking Midwestern beer news this afternoon: Minneapolis’ Fair State Brewing Cooperative just announced that they had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. “This does not mean we are shutting down,” according to CEO Evan Sallee in a post on their website. “[W]e are just restructuring our debt and will emerge on the other side stronger for it.” Let’s hope so.
This email is coming at you slightly later than it otherwise would have, solely because I went down a YouTube rabbit hole of pop-punk videos for reasons which will become immediately apparent:
The New Illinois Beer Label of the Week:
Lately I’ve been spending more time than I care to admit watching YouTube channels about dead and dying shopping malls. IDK what it is about observing people simply walking around completely closed or nearly-abandoned 20th-century churches of capitalism that appeals to me.
My childhood mall was Stratford Square and man, it is on its last legs. I could still tell you exactly where the Claire’s, Hot Topic and Spencers Gifts were in there, and I’m guessing the folks at Maplewood have some similarly nostalgic feelings about Hot Topic given the above label … or they’re angling in on the next Avril Lavigne appearance in Chicago.
(Side note to Team Maplewood: She’s coming in September — someone get on the phone with her management!)
Up next for Premium Subscribers: New barrel-aged options from Goose Island and Pipeworks, another potential line extension from Three Floyds, a few more heritage-style and light lagers from craft breweries in Missouri and Minnesota, and something weirder than usual from 450 North. Want to get access to all these, plus our many months of past label updates? Y’all know the drill: