Retirement - The Beer Thrillers

Beer Wall on Penn Has Closed

B. Kline — Sat, 28 Sep 2024 03:12:48 +0000

Beer Wall on Penn has announced they are officially closed.

Beer Wall on Penn has announced they are officially closed

Another staple of craft beer in Reading, Pennsylvania, has announced they are closed. Located at 619 Penn Ave, West Reading, PA 19611, the Beer Wall on Penn has been in operation for nearly five and a half years. On the same street as Chatty Monks Brewing / Pagoda City Brewing, Willow Creek Brewing, and Broken Chair Brewery. In just the past two years Chatty Monks has undergone big changes and turned into Pagoda City Brewing with new management, Willow Creek Brewing has closed, and Broken Chair Brewery just recently closed as well.

Their announcement on social media reads:

**Important Announcement**

After 5 1/2 incredible years the ave, we regret to inform you that Beer Wall on Penn has closed it’s doors. We want to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our amazing current and past employees. Your hard work, dedication, and passion have played an essential role in making Beer Wall a household name. To our customers, thank you for every pint poured, every smile shared, and every memory created. We couldn’t have done it without you. I got to live out a dream and for that, I’m forever thankful. It was one hell of a run!

We have retained our assets and “R” liquor license. If anyone is interested, please email beerwallonpenn@gmail.com

Beer Wall on Penn – Facebook Post

They posted this just a few hours ago at 8:38 AM.

Reactions

Some reactions from people on Reddit, Facebook, and others talk about Reading, and the craft beer industry as a whole. For examples…

Broken Chair brewing, Say Cheese, Nitro Bar, Willow Creek Brewery, and now Beer Wall on Penn closed. WHAT THE HELL WEST READING?!?!?!

Scott Horner

And from Reddit:

Say Cheese, Nitro Bar, and West Reading Motor Club all closed because of a scandal involving the club owners son who managed Nitro and WMC. From what I’ve heard: none of those restaurants were profitable anyway.

Broken Chair’s owner said he was promoted at work, close to retirement, wanted to slow down and not invest more into growing the business.

Willowcreek closed because the owners retired.

Beer Wall: no clue.

My opinion: the restaurant/brewery business isn’t an easy one. And there were so many in WR. Two of the originals (Chatty Monks and Barley Mow) still seem busy. People might say it’s prices and inflation but Barley Mow is the most expensive of them all yet they’re busy because the food is amazing.

Most businesses fail in good times and bad. Honestly, I have no idea how half the businesses in WR make any money and most close within a year. Either there’s just no demand, they don’t market, or another business in a saturated market gets most of the business. That’s how capitalism works!

/r/Reading, PA – Beer Wall on Penn Closes After Five Years in Business

For More Information on Beer Wall on Penn

For more information on the Beer Wall on Penn, you can find them at these social media platforms:

Beer Wall on Penn – Official Website
Beer Wall on Penn – Facebook
Beer Wall on Penn – Instagram

Brewery News

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Broken Chair Brewery Has Announced They Will Be Closing

B. Kline — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 00:00:32 +0000

Broken Chair Brewery Logo

Broken Chair Brewery Has Announced They Will Be Closing

In more sad news, Broken Chair Brewery – out of West Reading, Pennsylvania; has announced that they will be closing (no later than the end of August 2024). In a heartfelt post on their social media just an hour ago, they announced that as they will be easing into retirement, they have decided to close down the brewery.

Broken Chair Brewery has been a staple of West Reading Pennsylvania since 2017. Located at 424 Penn Ave, West Reading, PA 19611 the small but mighty brewery has been churning out amazing beers since 2017 and has garnered quite a bit of a reputation, love, and community following them. Located on the same street as Pagoda Brewing (formerly known as Chatty Monks Brewing), as well as the recently closed Willow Creek Brewery, and The Barley Mow, and Beer Wall on Penn; they carved out a niche as a wonderful brewery to hit in the city.

The Announcement

An exterior shot of Broken Chair Brewery (photo courtesy of Broken Chair Brewing)

Just an hour ago, Broken Chair Brewery made this announcement via their social media:

Dear friends of Broken Chair Brewery,

We are writing to let you know that we have had a tremendous time selling beer and good times in West Reading, but it is time for us to start slowing down and get ready for retirement. Broken Chair Brewery will be closing at the end of August depending on how much beer we have.

This decision was not made lightly. Despite the incredible journey and the many successes we have shared, a recent job promotion in my full time job and actually wanting to start slowing down has made this necessary. The business would need to expand to keep being successful and would need further investment. I just do not have the time and do not want to further invest this close to my retirement. I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has been part of this journey. Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or have only recently discovered our brews, your support has been vital to our story.

I want to thank our dedicated staff which has been with us for several years. Their hard work is what made our brewery. A business is only as strong as its staff, and we had the best. I will miss every one of them.

To our beloved customers, thank you for the enthusiasm and loyalty you have shown. Your appreciation for our craft has been a constant source of motivation. We hope that our paths will cross again in the future, maybe at a beer fest.

To my family who made this dream a reality I want to give my love and sincere thanks. I am not the easiest person to deal with and you rose to that challenge and kept me in line when it needed to be done. I know you are looking forward to other endeavors and rewards in the future.

We invite you all to visit us for one last toast before we close. It would be a joy to share a final round of cheers with the community that has made Broken Chair Brewery more than just a brewery, but a family.

Thank you once again for all the memories and good times. Although we are closing this chapter, the experiences we shared will always be cherished.

Cheers,

Todd, Joan, Dan

– Facebook Post: Broken Chair Brewery

More Information on Broken Chair Brewery

The following comes via Untappd.

Broken Chair Brewery is a micro brewery from West Reading, Pennsylvania. They have 88 unique beers and over 16,000 ratings, with a global average rating of 3.67 (as of 6.18.24). Their Untappd description reads: “Broken Chair Brewery, like most small businesses started in a garage. After getting tired of settling for beers that were extreme in taste, flavor and hoppiness we wanted to create beers that everyone could enjoy. We wanted to make a large variety of beers so that everyone could find a beer they could drink. It took a lot of trial and error and sometimes pouring the beer down the drain until we had beers that we liked. After years of brewing we decided to take our beer to the next level. It took several months to find a place to do this. We knew we wanted to be in West Reading because it is welcoming to small businesses and the community around Penn Avenue is also very supportive. The community is friendly and wiling to get involved in their neighborhood. The tasting room is all brick that we found under a layer of stucco. This was a wonderful surprise that allowed us to keep the patch work tile floor that was there from the tile shop that was previously in the building. The environment is warm and relaxing. When you walk to the back you can see the brewery through a glass paneled door. The brewery is all stainless steel with a small 2 BBL brewing system. This small brewing system allows us to make a variety of different beers and the ability to rotate different beers when one has kicked.”

You can find them at these social media platforms:

Brewery News

Interested in finding out about many other brewery openings, new locations, closings, movings, and in general brewery news? You can check out our links below:

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If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

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MAPS OF BREWERIES

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The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #8 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2023.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

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Penn Brewery Announces Sale and Retirement

B. Kline — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 13:20:51 +0000

Penn Brewery’s Owners – Sandy Cindrich, Corey Little, and Linda Nyman announce their sale and retirement. (Photo courtesy: Penn Brewery’s Facebook page)

Penn Brewery’s Sale

Today on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media, the owners of Penn Brewery (in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) – Sandy Cindrich, Corey Little, and Linda Nyman; announced their sale and upcoming retirement. They announced the sale was to Stefan Nitsch. Stephan Nitsch is described in their post as a Pittsburgh based businessman and owner of Arkham Realty. Their post on their social media also announces their retirement after thirteen years of running the brewery.

Their post reads:

Big news! Penn Brewery’s owners – Sandy Cindrich, Corey Little, and Linda Nyman – are pleased to announce the sale of the company to Stefan Nitsch, Pittsburgh-based businessman and owner of Arkham Realty. After thirteen years helming the Brewery, Sandy, Linda, and Corey plan to retire.
Sandy noted, “In an era when so many small and mid-sized breweries are being bought up by large corporate entities, it was critical that as a ‘quintessentially Pittsburgh’ institution, Penn Brewery remain locally based and independently owned.”
Having spent his childhood in Austria and Switzerland, and his adulthood in Pittsburgh, Stefan says, “I’m a huge fan of Penn’s “Euro-Pittsburgh” branding and look forward to bringing it to the next generation of Penn consumers.”
Let’s raise a glass to Stefan! Stefan Wolfgang Nitsch Arkham Realty and Property Management
Penn Brewery – Facebook Post

Penn Brewery

(The following statistics comes from the Penn Brewery Untappd Page.) Penn Brewery is a micro brewery from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It has 163 unique beers with a global average rating of 3.48 and over 178 thousand ratings. Their Untappd description reads: Pittsburgh’s oldest and largest brewery, Penn is housed in the mid nineteenth-century landmark E&O Brewery Building in the North Side’s Deutschtown neighborhood, which was settled by German immigrants. Penn has been producing high-end craft beers since 1986, specializing in authentic, award-winning German-style beers brewed in the tradition of these immigrants, according to the strict quality standards of Reinheitsgebot. Our beers’ great taste comes from real German hops and two-row barley, with no added corn or rice fillers. Penn Brewery is proudly independently owned and operated.

Penn Brewery (Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia)

From Wikipedia: Penn Brewery, also known as the Pennsylvania Brewing Company, is a brewery and restaurant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Tom Pastorius in 1986, and is located at 800 Vinial Street in the Troy Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, on the site of the former Eberhardt and Ober Brewery (founded in 1848).

2009 Closure

“On January 2, 2009, Birchmere ended beer production at the Vinial Street location and laid off 8 of the 10 brewery employees. All production was outsourced to the Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The restaurant was scheduled to close February 28, 2009, but a last-minute agreement allowed it to remain at its current location for the next five years.
On August 19, 2009, Birchmere announced the indefinite closing of the Penn Brewery Restaurant.
Penn Brewery – Wikipedia

Subsequent Re – Opening

On November 23, 2009, Penn Brewery issued a press announcement indicating that a small group of local investors, had acquired Penn Brewery from Birchmere Capital, under undisclosed terms, and that the original owner would be returning to lead a restart of brewing at the Vinial Street location, as well as an eventual reopening of the restaurant.^[2]
On December 8, 2009, brewing officially resumed at the E & O facility, with the first mashing occurring at 10:20 AM. December 30, 2009 at 4:00 PM marked the first beer tasting of the new era of Penn Brewery.
On December 30, 2009 the Penn Brewery Restaurant opened for a “sneak peek” preview of the beers. Festivities were open to the public and the response was incredible.^[3]
In February 2010 a new kegging line was installed, and on February 17, 2010, the first kegs of locally brewed Penn Brewery beer were released to wholesalers.
Penn Brewery – Wikipedia

Pittsburgh

It’s good to see the brewery taking on new ownership and continuing to live on. With more and more breweries closing due to COVID and other issues (like the recently announced Newfangled Brew Works closing) its good to see older staples like Penn Brewery continuing to live on.

Amy and myself just came back from a trip that included Pittsburgh, but sadly we didn’t stop at Penn Brewery. In 2019 my daughters and I also had a road trip which included Pittsburgh, and we went by Penn Brewery but they were closed. Pittsburgh is a great city with a lot (read: a ton) of breweries, so if you are ever able to – make sure to get out there and check out the city and all the great breweries! You won’t be disappointed.

Articles about those trips:

Also check out:

BREW: The Museum of Beer (Pittsburgh, PA) – Is Set to Launch Their Online Exhibit

For More Information on Penn Brewery

Other News and Closings

We have covered many brewery openings, expansions, closings, and other news here on the blog. Be sure to check out all the various articles we’ve written below.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out other brewery openings and other brewery news recently:

Thanks For Reading

Thank you all for reading. As I said in the article its great to see this long living brewery continue on. The building is a beautiful building and its a wonderful brewery with some fantastic beers, and is a staple of Troy Hill in Pittsburgh. So its so good to see them continue on and prosper. Likewise, hope the owners of Penn Brewery – Sandy Cindrich, Corey Little, and Linda Nyman – enjoy their retirement.

We have lots of articles popping up about our trip out to Cleveland, Canton, and Pittsburgh, so be sure to check those out. As well as lots of other things going on, like our ad agreement with MICET Group and lots of other fun beer reviews, brewery reviews, book reviews, and more. So please subscribe and follow.

Cheers and thanks all!

-B. Kline

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #9 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

New Bells-gium – New Belgium Brewing and Lion Acquires Bell’s Brewery

BKline — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 03:44:55 +0000

New Belgium Brewing and their parent company Lion purchase Bell’s Brewery

Blockbuster News

Talk about a blockbuster news story today. I’ve been a bit under the weather the past two days, so apologies for posting this late, but wow, what blockbuster news we got today in the craft beer world. I first saw it while half – awake / half – asleep (while sitting on my back patio in the sun, trying to feel better, while reading a book and dozing in and out of sleep) – a Facebook post by New Belgium Brewing where they were saying the thing missing from Fat Tire was a ‘bell’ attached to the bike… and I didn’t really read it and just skimmed it, thinking they were talking about a collaboration between the two, and promptly dozed off in the gorgeous Pennsylvania November warm sun. (Two years in a row now during this week we have had fantastic weather.)

Then, later on in the day, my phone blew up with four different friends all messaging me with the news. And after taking care of a few things, and starting to feel better, I dug down into this and did some reading and writing this article up. (And maintaining our daily article count for November.)

New Belgium

New Belgium Brewing Company is one of the bigger names in the craft beer industry – as far as still genuinely is craft beer. According to their Untappd page New Belgium Brewing Company:

New Belgium Brewing is a nationally distributed brewery recognized as a leader in sustainability and social responsibility. Founded in 1991 in Fort Collins, Colorado, the company expanded to Asheville, North Carolina, in 2016 and Denver, Colorado, in 2018, and is now the fourth largest craft brewery in the U.S. Dedicated to proving that business can be a force for good, New Belgium is a Certified B-Corp and was the first brewery to join 1% for the Planet. The brewery has donated over $26 million to charitable causes since 1991. New Belgium is famous for its flagship beer, Fat Tire Amber Ale, along with year-round favorites like Voodoo Ranger IPA and La Folie Sour Brown Ale as well as an award-winning wood-aged sour program and innovative limited release beers. To learn more about the full product line-up and New Belgium’s Human powered Business model, visit NewBelgium.com
Untappd: New Belgium

Interestingly, Untappd lists them as a ‘macro’ brewery. They have 429 unique beers with a global average rating of 3.63 (as of 11.10.21) with over 8.62Million check-ins and 1.2Million (+) being unique check-ins. They are listed as a subsidiary of Kirin Brewing Company.

New Belgium is best known for their Fat Tire and VooDoo Ranger IPA series. If you go to any Sheetz, Rutters, Exxon, or other beer selling gas station, or any distributor, you will see a large range of New Belgium brews on the shelves in six packs and four packs, in both cans and bottles. They certainly command a strong shelf presence; right up there with the ABV InBev owned “craft breweries” (Goose Island, Blue Moon, Elysian, etc.).

Bell’s Brewery

Once again dipping back into Untappd, let’s take a look at Bell’s Brewery’s page:

Bell’s began in 1985 with a quest for better beer and a 15 gallon soup kettle. The dedication to brewing flavorful, unfiltered, quality craft beers that started in 1985 is still with us today. We currently brew over 20 beers for distribution as well as many other small batch beers that are served at our pub in Kalamazoo, the Eccentric Cafe. Our ongoing goal is to brew thoughtfully, creatively and artistically. 100% family-owned and independent. Bell’s Brewery, Comstock, Michigan
Untappd: Bell’s Brewery

On Untappd, Bell’s Brewery is listed as a Regional Brewery with 486 unique beers and a global average rating (as of 11.10.21) of 3.85. They have a total of 7.36Million (+) check-ins with 967,019 (as of 8:41PM) being unique check-ins.

Bell’s Brewery has a pretty large distribution footprint similar to other large or regional breweries; such as Founders (another Michigan brewery). Some of their bigger or more well known brews are Oberon, Hopslam, Two Hearted Ale, and Expedition Stout.

Two Hearted Ale is one of the more celebrated ‘all around’ easy drinking beers that makes numerous lists. And Hoslam is a seasonal favorite right on par with Nugget Nectar and Mad Elf; a beer people set their watches to (or I guess calendars to).

The Merge

This is certainly going to be one of the bigger merges of craft breweries…. in a long time. Up there with ABV InBev buying Wicked Weed or Goose Island; or the Samuel Adams and Dogfish Head agreement; and bigger than the Victory and Southern Tier agreement.

You can watch Larry Bell’s retirement video that was posted to the Bell’s Brewery YouTube page below:

Larry Bell announces his retirement and the acquisition of Bell’s Brewery by New Belgium

You can view their YouTube channel here: Bell’s Brewery on YouTube.

As he says above in the video, he incorporated the company when he was 25 years old in 1983 and has ran as president of operations for the 38 years since. He is stepping down and announcing his retirement due to many factors, but the notable one being age and health issues.

From MLive.com:

KALAMAZOO, MI — Bell’s Brewery is set to become the second major American craft brewing company to be acquired by Lion, an Australian-based beverage company with a growing international portfolio.
Lion recently purchased Fort Collins, Colorado-based, New Belgium Brewing Co. in 2019.
Bell’s founder and president Larry Bell told the Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive Wednesday that the board of directors at Bell’s voted in January to begin exploring the sale of the company. Upper Hand Brewery in Escanaba, which Bell opened in 2014 in Escanaba, will also be part of the sale.
mlive.com – Bell’s Brewery Being Bought by Australian Company that Purchased New Belgium Brewing in 2019

From Brewpublic:

By aligning with New Belgium, Bell’s will expand on its own commitments to coworkers, communities, and customers by adopting many hallmark, human-powered business practices – including seeking B Corporation certification, 100% carbon neutrality by 2030, $1 per barrel philanthropy, and 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index. Bell’s fans can expect the same meaningful involvement with the Michigan community, driven by events like Oberon Day and supporting Kalamazoo Pride, which have been core to the company’s vision and values from the beginning.
“In Bell’s, we see a likeminded group of people dedicated to making the world’s best beer – doing business in a way that improves the wellbeing of the people who power our success,” said New Belgium CEO Steve Fechheimer, a Michigan native and longtime Bell’s drinker. “We couldn’t be happier to welcome the entire Bell’s team. Joining together will immediately strengthen our ability to serve and expand the craft community, deliver more value for our partners, and continue to redefine how business is done in a world facing historic economic, social, and environmental challenges. Personally, I can’t wait to celebrate Oberon Day in 2022!”
Over its 30 years in business, New Belgium has pioneered a unique ‘human-powered’ business model grounded in the idea that building the most successful and resilient business requires prioritizing the prosperity of coworkers, communities, and customers across the company’s operations. This novel approach has been the foundation for New Belgium’s industry-leading growth and standout ability to reach younger, more diverse beer drinkers. That model will now grow to include Bell’s approximately 550 employees, 500,000-barrel brewery in Comstock, Mich., and beloved brands like Two Hearted, voted the best beer in America multiple times.
Brewpublic.com – New Belgium Brewing and Lion Acquire Bells Brewery

This has certainly become the hot topic of the craft beer online world. With nearly every beer group on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter that I’m engaged in and read and check out all having people talking about it, speculating about the merge, and what all it means for both New Belgium and Bell’s Brewery, as well as us the consumers. Thankfully as Larry Bell stated in his video, the workers look to be well taken care of and that the transition looks like it will be a good and smooth one for the employees (of both companies).

Even Yahoo News covered the story in an article:

New Belgium Brewing and Bell’s Brewery will become one entity led by New Belgium CEO Steve Fechheimer, according to New Belgium. Bell’s Brewery’s, which distributes to 43 states and was listed as the seventh largest U.S. craft brewing company earlier this year, has 550 employees who will become New Belgium employees once the acquisition is finalized in the coming months, according to New Belgium spokesperson Megan Olson.
No changes are currently planned for either brewery’s beverage options, operational footprints or Bell’s Brewery’s “deep presence in the Kalamazoo community,” Olson confirmed Thursday.
Yahoo News: Michigan’s Bell’s Brewery acquired by New Belgium

Larry Bell

Larry Bell announces his retirement via YouTube video

Larry Bell is one of the most respected brewers, owners, and activists in the brewing company. Announcing his retirement today and stating health issues, a flood of well wishers, congratulations, and attaboys flooded the internet from those in and out of the industry. His impact is far and well felt in the community of the craft beer industry, as well as by the consumers.

Bell’s Brewery employs 600~ employees and has a distribution footprint of 42 states in America as well as Puerto Rico. Bell’s Brewery annually produces 310,000 barrels of beer. As per the Bell’s Brewery wikipedia page:

Larry Bell incorporated The Kalamazoo Brewing Company, Inc., in 1983 as a homebrewing supply shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan.^[8] In September 1985, the company began to sell its own beer, brewed in a 15-US-gallon (57 L) soup kettle and fermented in open fermenters covered with plastic wrap. The company produced 135 barrels in its first year. In 1993 the company opened an adjacent brewpub, the Eccentric Café.^[9]
In 2003, Bell’s opened an additional brewing facility in nearby Comstock, Michigan.^[9] The company legally changed its name in 2006 to Bell’s Brewery, Inc., reflecting the name by which it was popularly known.^[10] A larger production facility in Comstock opened in 2012, increasing the company’s brewing capacity from 180,000 barrels to 500,000 barrels per year.^[11]
In late 2012, the Bell family repurchased all stock held by outside investors, returning the company to full family ownership.^[12]
Wikipedia: Bell’s Brewery

We here at The Beer Thrillers wish Larry Bell a happy retirement and hope his health issues get better and that he has a long and well preserved retirement. Would be fantastic to have a pint with him in Kalamazoo.

Mainstream News Sources

Check out the following mainstream news sources to read more about New Belgium acquiring Bell’s Brewery:

Social Media:

Bell’s Brewery:

Facebook: Bell’s Brewery
Twitter: Bell’s Brewery
Instagram: Bell’s Brewery

New Belgium:

Brewery Expansions, Openings, Closings, News

For some of our other links on brewery expansions, openings, closings, and news, check out the following:

Thanks For Reading

As always, thanks for reading everyone. This was certainly a big news day in the craft beer world! And I’m starting to feel better. Thankfully tomorrow and Friday are my weekend, so I should be able to get back to work Saturday. Be sure to check out all of our social media pages. And as November continues, we here at The Beer Thrillers are continuing with our daily articles. So be sure to be checking back here at the blog daily to stay up to date!

Cheers!

-B. Kline