Beer News
SweetWater 420 Fest 2024 pivots, now free
SweetWater 420 Fest, held April 20th and 21st at Pullman Yards in Atlanta now offers free general admission tickets with a donation to Waterkeeper Fund
2024 marks SweetWater Brewing’s 420 Fest’s return to a larger format music festival. When initially announced, the headlining acts included Beck, Slightly Stoopid, and Black Pumas.
Today, the brewery has announced a major change to the music lineup and pricing structure. The previously mentioned musical talent will not appear this year, and general admission tickets are now free, with a $10 donation to their non-profit partner, Waterkeeper Alliance.
The reason for the sudden pivot is explained by the brewery this way:
“We’ve thought a lot about the direction of SweetWater 420 Fest and decided to add a hefty dose of eco-awareness and grassroots energy back into this amazing party, which will be the rager it’s always been,” said Ty Gilmore, President of U.S. Beers for Tilray Brands. “SweetWater 420 Fest started as a free Earth Day bash, and that inspired us to reimagine this year’s event with a single-stage format, a lineup that taps into the festival’s jam and groove roots, and a significant charitable component to help the environment. It’s a win-win for everyone: for a modest donation, our fans get to see some of our favorite bands in a uniquely intimate setting and collectively support the Waterkeeper Alliance’s crucial work to keep our rivers and oceans clean and healthy.”
Refunds will be issued to those who already purchased tickets. The festival will still go on as planned on April 21-22, with the amended musical lineup below.
Tickets can be acquired online through the festival site, or by clicking here.
Auburn University & New Realm brew up a Master’s Degree in beer
America isn’t short on breweries, and for that matter, brewers. What it does lack is a clear way to become a professional brewer- or even a highly trained one. If you think about it, there are nearly 10,000 breweries in the United States and only handful of professional brewing programs. Some of the biggest names being Siebel and UC Davis. Now the Southeastern Conference can claim more than just football dominance.
Auburn University initially offered a Master’s Certificate in brewing science, which has now grown into a full blown Brewing Science and Operations, Master’s of Science Program. And they are doing it with the help of New Realm Brewing Company.
To get better at anything you have to learn. Read more on the topic. Do your research. In brewing it’s not that easy. Apprenticeships are impossible to come by, and simply brewing in a bucket in your garage won’t put you on the brew deck at Sierra Nevada, or Firestone Walker, much less your local brewpub. You need science, as much as practical training. New Realm co-founder Carey Falcone knows this, and when this educational partnership came up, he jumped at the chance.
Calling it a partnership doesn’t do this program justice. This goes beyond textbooks and lectures on brewing science. New Realm built a full 7-barrel commercial brewhouse and taproom open to the public, quite literally on campus. Going as far as changing the city’s licensing laws to do it. Craft beer in America doesn’t get simply get better by brewing it or having more breweries, it becomes world class with more classically trained brewers standing over boil kettles coast to coast.
Perhaps that’s the most interesting piece is why New Realm did this at all. A 7-barrel brewery on a college campus isn’t a financial move. Sure, it’s branding but in reality, it’s an investment in future of craft beer. After all, we all want great beer, and most of us just assume it will be waiting for us the next time we go to the bar.
Drew Kostic heads up not only the brewing operations at New Realm Auburn, but lectures within the program. Kostic went to law school at Duke and eventually became a lawyer in New York City. It’s safe to say he didn’t enjoy it. While in a federal clerkship, Kostic started pursuing a master’s certificate in brewing operations at Auburn. “My passion was beer and brewing, and I don’t think could ever go back to law,” Kostic says. After brewing at Circa Brewing and Oskar Blues, years later Kostic found his way back to Auburn where his brewing career started, actually brewing on-campus, and teaching as Affiliate Faculty in this Master’s program.
Falcone called me in June of 2023 to talk about Auburn and this new found partnership. Something stood out to me in that call – at no point did Carey ever once talk about what the involvement in this program could do for him or the brewery – only what Auburn and this Master’s program could do for for beer. Sentiments Kostic echos repeatedly in his passion for this program.
“Educated Creativity”
The days are quickly fading where brewers would just dump adjuncts into a brew or throw hops at the wall and see what sticks. Kostic and “AU Brew” are fostering “Educated Creativity” within their Masters program. “We are teaching a balance between science and creativity so you brew better and smarter,” Kostic says. Technology is aiding in this mission as well, allowing students and brewers to learn the business and science of beer pretty much anywhere.
AU Brew, is a part of the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center, which is home to the brewing science program, Trinchero Estates Wine Appreciate Laboratory, Distilled Spirits Laboratory, Culinary Science, Event Management, and Hotel and Restaurant Management. All a part of Auburn University’s multi-million dollar investment in a world class approach to hospitality, food and beverage management high education.
AU Brew is a game changer for those seeking a higher education in craft brewing. Falcone leads the brewery not by tell you what you have to do, but asking what prevents you from succeeding.
Perhaps this program does just that.
Wooden Robot co-founder dies in brewery fall
The co-founder of Charlotte, North Carolina’s Wooden Robot Brewery died in a fall at the South End location on February 20th.
Earlier today, Charlotte, North Carolina’s Wooden Robot Brewery announced that both taprooms would be temporarily closed due to unforeseen circumstances. Later it was announced that co-founder Dan Wade died in a fall at the brewery’s South End location.
According to various news sources, the fall was reported between 2-3:30 pm EST.
Brewery co-founder Josh Patton issued a statement via Instagram:
It is with an extremely sad and heavy heart that we share this news. Due to an accident that occurred today, we lost one of our founders, co-owners, and friend, Dan.
We ask that you respect the privacy of his loved ones in this incredibly difficult time. We are all still in shock and need time to process everything, but we will do our best to keep everyone in the loop for when we open up our taprooms again.
Your thoughts and prayers for Dan’s family, his wife, and his son are much appreciated at this time.
– Josh
The South End location opened in June 2015. The NoDa location opened in 2019.
Ed Note: We at Beer Street Journal send our deepest condolences to both Dan’s family and the brewery family. We are thinking about you at this dark time.
Wild Heaven Punched Up Fruited Sour, Version 2
Wild Heaven Punched Up Fruited Sour with Raspberry, Guava, Passion Fruit, and Pineapple debuts Friday, February 7th.
This latest Punched Up was slated for late fall of 2023, but apparently life got a bit in way of its release. nevertheless, this tart fruit blast drops Friday.
Wild Heaven Punched Up joined the brewery’s lineup as a spring seasonal nearly a year ago, featuring peach, orange and mango. For the colder winter temps and shorter days, the brewery went with a more tropical fruit theme – namely raspberry, guava, passionfruit and pineapple.
12-ounce cans of Punched Up, along with its draft counterpart arrive at both brewery locations on Friday, January 7th. Perfect for drinking while you procrastinate taking down the Christmas decorations.
Style: Sour Ale (w/ Raspberry, Guava, Passion Fruit, Pineapple.)
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft. Seasonal Release.
Debut: 1/7/24
5% ABV
Ecliptic Brewing sells
Ecliptic Brewing in Portland, Oregon has announced the brewery has been sold.
Ecliptic Brewing announced this week that the brewery has officially been sold, per the brewery’s owner and brewmaster John Harris.
In an Instagram announcement, the Harris stated the last two years of brewery operations have been challenging – citing the pandemic, rising cost of goods, and overall economic climate. “It has gotten to the point where we are no longer able to continue operations, and the company has been sold,” the statement reads.
“A Bigger Entity.”
Harris mentioned in the statement that the sale will allow the brewery to pay back debts with a “bigger entity” – which has now been disclosed as Great Frontier Holdings that includes Ninkasi Brewing and Wings & Arrow Beer Company.
The restaurant will be open through Saturday, November 18th.
The Ecliptic Brewing beers and production will presumably continue on through Great Frontier Holdings channels.
Ecliptic Brewing opened their “Mothership” restaurant and brewery in October of 2013. In November 2021, Ecliptic took over Base Camp Brewing’s space in southeast Portland- renaming the location “The Moon Room.”
Anheuser-Busch sells Virtue Cider back to owner
Quietly, Fennville, Michigan’s Virtue Cider has returned back into the hands of the founder Greg Hall.
Virtue Cider is no longer part of Anheuser-Busch. This deal took place back in August, around the same time Anheuser Busch was selling off eight brands to Tilray, and has been flying almost completely under the radar until a mention of the sale surfaced this week in Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.
After reaching out to Virtue Cider, a spokesperson with the A-B Craft Division confirms that Greg Hall reaquired the cidery back in August. Per the email:
Today we announced an agreement to purchase Virtue Cider from our partners at Anheuser-Busch. It’s been a great five years with Anheuser-Busch, and I want to thank my colleagues and fellow craft brewery founders for believing in Virtue Cider and helping us create some of the best cider in the world.
Moving forward, we’ll continue to focus on what we’ve always done: making world-class ciders that are fit for the table, being great stewards of the environment, and helping more people discover Fennville and all that Southwest Michigan has to offer.
Greg Hall, Founder, Virtue Cider
In 2015 it was reported that Virtue Cider had fallen behind financially. Ultimately Hall decided to sell off the controlling stake in Virtue to Anheuser Busch. In 2017, A-B bought the remaining stake in September 2017.
Fast forward to 2023, AB InBev has lost billions over the summer after a failed marketing campaign, and as mentioned earlier, sold off numerous brands including Shock Top, in their portfolio off to cannabis company, Tilray.
The deal is still pending approval through the Michigan Liquor Control Commission. The financials of the deal and closing date were not disclosed.
Beer Street Journal visited Virtue Cider earlier this summer. It’s a bit off the beaten path, but quite peaceful (and delicious).
Pontoon Brewing closing October 28th
Atlanta-based Pontoon Brewing will close both their locations on October 28th.
As is pretty standard these days, Pontoon Brewing took to Instagram to announce the brewery will close their doors after their last scheduled event on October 28th. In the post, Pontoon blames a lack of payments from their main distributing partner for the brewery’s demise, stopping short of naming which distributor that has not paid the brewery.
With the current state of the economy, it’s been a bumpier ride than anticipated, but we continued to grow strike up new partnerships, grow our team, and shine bright! That said, due to one of our main distribution partners not paying us for our product, we are faced with a dire situation and are forced to temporarily close our doors while we find a new partner or buyer for the business.
Pontoon Brewing via Instagram
An email shared anonymously this week from an employee at Pontoon to unknown recipients, was much more direct, stating “Pontoon Brewing closing its doors.”
PICS: PONTOON BREWING’S 2ND ANNIVERSARY
Pontoon Brewing opened it’s doors in Sandy Springs, Georgia in January of 2018, and opening a 2nd location dubbed “The Lodge” in nearby Tucker, Georgia in September 2022.
Messages to Pontoon Brewing were not immediately returned.
Below, Beer Street Journal images of Pontoon Brewing’s ribbon cutting ceremony from January 2018.
