Latest news with #GreatAmericanBeerFestival
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Iowa's Big Grove Brewery is headed south, revealing plans for Kansas City taproom
Big Grove Brewery's reach is expanding beyond Iowa borders. The eastern Iowa-based brewery announced plans to open its sixth location in the suburbs of the Kansas City metro on the Kansas side. The new taproom is the third state Big Grove will have a physical presence in, joining its four Iowa locations and a soon-to-open facility in Omaha, Nebraska. The Nebraska taproom is slated to open in June, featuring Big Grove Coffee Co. More: Big Grove Brewery distributes $48K to organizations in Johnson, Linn and Polk Counties Big Grove got its start in Solon before quickly expanding to Iowa City. The beer conglomerate known for its popular Easy Eddy beer also has taprooms in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. The exact location of the Kansas City location has not been released, but the anticipated opening date is scheduled for the summer of 2026. The Kansas taproom will feature the same charms as the other locations, including a large patio space, on-site brewing, and a full-service kitchen. More: Big Grove Brewery pours support into communities with new micro-grant program, beer release Since opening in 2013, Big Grove Brewery has become a top 100 craft brewery, distributing its beverages in six states: Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Nebraska, Missouri, and Kansas. Big Grove has received multiple craft brewing medals from the Great American Beer Festival for fan-favorite brews, including the Easy Eddy and Citrus Surfer. The 12,000-square-foot, 15-barrel Des Moines taproom opened in 2022 on the outskirts of downtown. Cedar Rapids joined the fray in 2023 with a 21,000-plus square foot, 15-barrel facility with an open fermentation room. Along with adding taprooms in neighboring states, the fast-growing brewery is offering store directors the opportunity to become company owners at its various taproom locations. This strategic initiative deepens the Big Grove's 'commitment to local leadership, employee empowerment, and building community-rooted taprooms.' More: Celebrate Johnson County's top students in the Press-Citizen's Student of the Year polls ' The ownership model will debut with the Omaha location, followed by Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Solon, and Kansas City. 'We believe the best way to grow is by growing together,' said Doug Goettsch, co-founder of Big Grove Brewery, in a press release. 'Our team members are the soul of this company, and offering them this opportunity to build equity in their stores is one of the most meaningful ways we can invest back into our people.' Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and education reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at JRish@ or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rishjessica_ This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa's Big Grove Brewery reveals plans for Kansas City taproom
Forbes
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Why Small Beer Festivals Are Thriving
The Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival features rare beers from a carefully curated list of the world's best breweries. Firestone Walker Brewing Company Beer festivals are a great way for beer lovers to sample many beers in one place. Often, such festivals offer beers not otherwise available in the local market which makes them a draw for even the most seasoned beer lover. For a time, the biggest beer festivals were the biggest draw. More beer. More people. More fun. But that seems to be changing. For the 2024 edition of the Great American Beer Festival, the largest ticketed beer festival in America, the Brewers Association, which hosts the event, rolled out a significantly revamped format—for the first time since its inception in 1982. Among the changes to the event, which is held annually in Denver, CO, the number of sessions was reduced from four to three. In its heyday, tickets for the Great American Beer Festival would sell out in minutes. But in response to slower ticket sales, the Brewers Association eliminated one session, significantly reducing the number of tickets available, while at the same time introducing theme areas with more varied forms of entertainment. It is too early to tell whether the changes will revive the Great American Beer Festival, but other 'Great' festivals are also struggling. The Great Canadian Beer Festival has been cancelled for 2025 while the Great British Beer Festival returns in a new venue 2025—in Birmingham, England—after being cancelled for 2024—having been held for 34 years in London. Reports are that attendance has been shrinking in recent years. But reports of the death of beer festivals may be premature. Across the country, smaller, more focused beer festivals continue to sell out, satisfying the beer drinking public's thirst for sampling beers. 'I asked myself, 'What would be the perfect beer festival?'' said Matt Brynildson, brewmaster at Firestone Walker Brewing Company via video call. Firestone Walker hosts the annual Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival in its hometown of Paso Robles, California. 'I'd call up the best brewmasters of the world. We'd bring in the best beer, sent by air freight to ensure it is fresh and brewmasters would be there, so drinkers could meet the maker,' said Brynildson. 'And we would have wonderful food and world-class music.' The first Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival was held in 2012. It sold out in minutes then and now, about 3,500 tickets per year continue to sell out in minutes. 'We have a lot of wine-savvy consumers in Paso Robles,' said Brynildson. 'They have high expectations in their food and beverage experiences, so we have to set the bar high.' By keeping the beer festival small, Brynildson says ticketholders are given a better experience. The festival is built on the back of the relationships Brynildson has built during his brewing career and he knows the breweries he invites make great beer. Curation is the key. On the other side of the country, Good Word Brewing hosts three, small annual festivals in Duluth, Georgia, more or less 40 minutes from Atlanta. The city of 32,000 people has an open container zone within which people can drink alcohol in public spaces. That includes the town green, making it the perfect location for a beer festival. 'I created an event for brewers,' said Todd DiMatteo, owner and head brewer at Good Word, via telephone. 'Bigger festivals don't have the same feeling. They all become the same old, run-of-the-mill events with lots of breweries, mediocre food and maybe some band in the corner.' 'I attend a lot of festivals and a lot feel cookie cutter,' he says. 'So I wanted to create something totally different—something that feels fresh.' Good Word now organizes three festivals each with a theme and each with a curated list of invited breweries. According to DiMatteo, the more focused beer list draws a more interested consumer who is actually interested in tasting the nuances of each beer, rather than just trying to taste as many beers as possible. Having the event on the town green also means the festival goers can bring their families. There was a time when craft beer was a novelty and so was trying them amongst fellow beer lovers. But as the craft beer industry has matured, so have its drinkers. Awash in beer from almost 10,000 breweries in America, craft beer lovers have become more discerning and the curated offerings and more intimate settings of smaller beer festivals seem to be resonating with them. Here are seven small beer festivals worth visiting: About 70 of the best breweries from around the world present their beers each year at the Paso Robles Event Center, at the end of May or beginning of June. As a condition of invitation to the festival, breweries must have a brewer in attendance to answer questions and explain their beers. Consumers' choice awards, one for beer and one for food, ensure exhibiting breweries and restaurants bring their A game. 'Breweries bring something extra special to try to win the award,' says Brynildson. Ironically, Little Beer is the largest of these three annual beer festival hosted by Good Word Brewing in Duluth. Little Beer is a celebration of lower-alcohol beer held in April each year. Each of 80 to 90 brewers offers beers less than 5% ABV to 500 ticket holders. The outdoor festival is held in Duluth's town square, making it a family-friendly event. Le Bon is a celebration of saison and oysters held next to Good Word Brewing, in September. A dozen and a half breweries offer their finest saison to be paired with oysters supplied by famed shuckers. Mighty Fine Fest, a celebration of west coast IPA, is debuting in June 2025. About 50 breweries will have their hoppiest beers available and will help make Duluth the beer festival capital of America. Since 2009, the Denver Rare Beer Tasting has, as the name implies, served rare beers from some of America's most-respected breweries. Limited to 450 tickets at $200 each, the festival is held each year on the Thursday of the weekend of the Great American Beer Festival, in October each year. Brewers are in attendance to answer questions and proceeds support Pints For Prostates, a 501(c)3 non-profit charity established to raise awareness about prostate cancer, particularly within the beer community. FOBAB is held each year in Chicago, typically on a weekend early in November. The festival primarily pours beers that have been aged on wood or in barrels, ranging from strong, high-ABV imperial stouts and barley wines, to more moderate, but sour and funky barrel-aged sour beers. The festival awards the best barrel-aged beers in multiple categories. Recent editions of FOBAB have added a lager lounge and a non-alcoholic area to offer palates a refresh between the hundreds of palate-wrecking beers. Alaska is not always cold. But it certainly is in January. The Alaska Craft Beer & Barley Wine Festival is held in January each year in Anchorage to spread liquid sunshine during the dark winter. With an emphasis on strong, rich barley wines, the festival keeps festival goers warm as the enjoy local food and live music.
Time Out
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Hong Kong's first Goose Island Taproom opens in Central
Chicago's legendary craft brewery Goose Island has landed in Hong Kong with its first Asian taproom. The craft beer pioneer, known for its award-winning IPAs, has set up shop on Lyndhurst Terrace in Central – and it's ready to pour some seriously good brews. Bringing over a dozen of its best craft beers to Hong Kong, the taproom showcases Goose Island's most celebrated creations alongside monthly rotating specials. Beer enthusiasts can savour the six-time Great American Beer Festival champion Goose IPA, or the newly crowned 2024 World Beer Awards China Gold winner Thirsty Goose lager. Not sure what to try? Go for their Brewmaster's Choice Flight, offering 12 150ml pours of different house beers for $298. Imbibers will also be able to enjoy some hearty American pub grub to go with their drinks. Think beer-battered fish and chips made with Goose 312 wheat ale, stacked burgers, and loaded nachos with a signature Goose IPA cheese sauce. Fun fact: The brewery got its name from a little manmade island on the Chicago River, where legend has it that flocks of geese used to stop there during their migration flights. @gooseislandhk on Instagram.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Popular Local Denver Brewery is Closing After 8 Years
A beloved Denver, Colorado brewery is shutting down its doors at the end of the month. On Tuesday, Burns Family Artisan Ales, which first opened in August 2018 under the guidance of award-winning brewer Wayne Burns, will close its taproom to the public at the end of the month. "The fire is going out. Burns Family Artisan Ales' last day selling beer through the taproom to the public will be May 31, 2025," Burns and his wife, co-owner Laura Worley, shared on Facebook. In its tenure, Burns Family Artisan Ales not only built up a strong customer base, but also won medals at the Great American Beer Festival. For his career, Burns has captured four medals at the competition. "We developed classic and experimental styles from 2.2%abv to 25.1%abv," said the Burns Family post. "We succeeded with our niche of barrel-aged and high-alcohol beer to an extent that we remain the 4th highest rated brewery in the state of Colorado and consistently rate within the top ten breweries nationwide for our Solar Eclipse series. We have a client base of loyalists who visit us regularly, cheerlead for us, promote us and can't say enough good things about us (thank you!)." Despite all of the accomplishments and the strong reputation, Burns Family Artisan Ales sadly could not escape the harsh reality of insufficient sales. "So, why leave what is seemingly a great run? It is certain that specious speculation will conjure up many reasons, and we implore you to seek the truth rather than believe in rumor," Burns and Worley explained. "The truth of the matter is that our taproom was full only on the rarest of occasions. We needed more patrons. The most advantageous way to get the best cash flow is by selling someone a glass of beer, in your own place, over the bar. We simply didn't have enough people visiting to enable growth." The owners went on to say it wasn't the fault of them or their customers for the situation, but it's "just the way business can be." If you're planning to visit the Burns taproom before it closes, you can find the company's official website here.
Miami Herald
13-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Big beer brand closes breweries without filing Chapter 11 bankrutpcy
Many breweries start more as a dream than a business plan, In a lot of cases people go into the beer business because they love beer and want to follow their passion. That's sometimes a recipe for success, but there's a reason so many breweries, restaurants and other passion-based businesses fail. Related: Iconic ice cream, fast-food chain closing dozens of locations Passion goes only so far. Doing something you love can make it easier to put in long hours, make sacrifices, and do all the other things needed to give yourself a chance at success. A chance, however, is not the same as a guarantee. The competition in the beer business has become intense, with local breweries battling with regional and national brands. In many cases, markets have become saturated, so being really good is often not good enough. You must win recurring business in spaces where the biggest fans tend to want to try new things. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Add in the added debt loads that many breweries took on during Covid and you can see the uphill battle most breweries face. In recent months, that has led to a bloodbath. Dozens of breweries have closed, and now another beloved brand has abruptly joined that list. The so-called beerpocalypse has claimed dozens of once-successful brands including San Francisco's Anchor Brewing, a leader in the craft-beer space. A number of other brands, including Chicago's Metropolitan Brewing, New Jersey's Flying Fish, Denver's Joyride Brewing, Tampa's Zydeco Brew Werks, Wisconsin's Great Dane Brewing, and Cleveland's Terrestrial Brewing, also fell into bankruptcy. Some markets were literally destroyed as San Antonio lost Weathered Souls Brewing and Busted Sandal Brewing in fall 2024, and Freetail Brewing Co. ended its beer distribution operations following that. The list is long and it has claimed some companies that had proved to be more than just a hobbyist's dream. "In 2013, Jekyll Brewing opened its doors to the public, offering a range of beers that reflected the founders' commitment to quality, craftsmanship and innovation," the company website said. "The brewery quickly gained a following, with beer enthusiasts from all over the state of Georgia flocking to Alpharetta to taste the latest offerings from Jekyll Brewing." More bankruptcy: Iconic auto repair chain franchise files Chapter 11 bankruptcyPopular beer brand closes down and files Chapter 7 bankruptcyPopular vodka and gin brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy The brand grew to five locations - four in Georgia and one in Florida. The company also won numerous awards including gold and silver medals at the Great American Beer Festival and the U.S. Open Beer Championship. "Today, Jekyll Brewing is recognized as one of the leading craft breweries in the Southeast, and its beers are available in bars, restaurants, and retail stores throughout Georgia and other nearby states," it added. "Despite its success, the brewery remains committed to its roots and its mission to create unique, flavorful beers that reflect the spirit and character of the Georgia coast." Jekyll Brewing abruptly closed its doors on May 11, Mother's Day, with its own posting about the shutdown on a members-only local beer Facebook page. DigitalDen shared the news on an Atlanta beer Reddit page: "It seems Jekyll Brewing will be the latest brewery to close in metro Atlanta. After news in February that the company had stopped producing kegs, rumors swirled that there was a deeper issue with the business. "Those rumors were realized Tuesday when Jekyll Brewing owner Michael Lundmark confirmed the imminent closure of all Jekyll Brewing locations via a post on Atlanta Beer Society, a local Facebook page." All Jekyll Brewing locations closed at the end of service on May 11. Not every comment was sympathetic to Jekyll Brewing. "It would help if they made better beer," posted Furthur. "Jekyll had a great launch and Tart Vice and their Marzen were great. Hop Dang was solid too and it's variants were fun. As per the cyclic conversation we've been having for years now, the market is oversaturated and there are a few distro houses you can blame for buying up rights, pushing their products onto shelves competing with themselves." Related: Popular casual restaurant chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy In fact, most of the comments on the Reddit thread, leaned toward negative. "Saw that coming a mile location was never busy even during peak times, overpriced (but very tasty) food, sub-par beer," Brohamz wrote. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
