Month: December 2020

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A Cautionary Tale from Old Tacoma, for ALL Breweries


In the comments to section of a Facebook page for my friend, Sue Kidd, former food reviewer for our local Tacoma News Tribune, she covered the closure of a Seattle brewery which opened a pub in a ritzy (well, ritzy for Tacoma, anyway) new shopping and retail center on the Commencement Bay waterfront. The center is called Point Ruston and at least aspires to be an upscale location with more in common with our neighboring Seattle than sweet ol’ blue-collar Tacoma. The brewery occupied a large retail space there which had previously been the pub for another out-of-town brewery. The new closure was significant. People noticed…and came to a Conclusion.

Hundreds of Tacomans started to call this space “cursed”.

There is nothing at all “cursed” about the location. As someone who has been actively involved in the beverage trade for 37 years, I saw what was happening with those breweries going into Point Ruston and told my wife I gave them both less than six months…and that is because of ambition exceeding their realities.

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

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Holiday Smack-Up: Cedar Springs Brewing: Bringing Back the Gut

Okay, when I called this “Brining Back the Gut”, I was not talking about my waistline after the Holiday carb orgy…although I’ma TRY not to do that, this year, though self-deception gets harder every day.

No, this “gut” is the German form, pronounced “Goot”, which translates as “good”, as in the official slogan – Schmecht Gut (“Make it Good”) – of the brilliant Cedar Springs Brewing, of…you guessed it, Cedar Springs. Which is in Kentucky, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Texas, not to mention the Cedar Springs Historic District, in South Carolina, composed of three buildings: the Stagecoach Inn, The Frazier-Pressley House, and The Cedar Springs ARP Church. God Bless Wikipedia.

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

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Goose Island Brewhouse in Fishtown permanently closes in Covid-19 fallout


The popular Goose Island Brewhouse in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood has permanently closed after two-and-a-half years of operation, the latest fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 10,500-square-foot brewpub announced the shuttering late Friday afternoon via its Facebook and Instagram accounts. Goose Island Beer Co. is based in Chicago, and has been owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev since 2011. The company wrote Covid-19 has had a “significant impact” on its Philadelphia business.

Goose Island Beer Co. opened its Philadelphia concept at 1002 Canal St. in spring 2018. The local brewhouse was well-trafficked by Philadelphians across the city, Fishtown residents and people attending shows at neighboring music venue Fillmore Philadelphia. The project includes indoor space as well as a large outdoor seating area.

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

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Pabst is leaving Milwaukee for a second time as Pilot House closes


For the second time, the Pabst Brewing Company is leaving Milwaukee.

The brewer announced today that the Captain Pabst Pilot House, 1037 W. Juneau Ave., located in Milwaukee’s Brewery District – which occupies the original Pabst Brewery complex – will close for good in December.

The brewing system – which was making 4,000 barrels a year – located on the lower level will be moved to Pabst’s now-headquarters of San Antonio.

Pabst shuttered its brewery here in 1996 after 152 years.

The current iteration opened in spring 2017 in a former church building that was once part of the original Pabst Brewery.

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!