American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
Oskar Blues Austin brewery is “Gone, Baby, Gone” / Courtesy Oskar Blues)
Craft brewery closures are accelerating in Austin, Texas at a concerning rate. We’ve that “Words to Drink By” and more.
Oskar Blues Austin Brewery Suddenly Closes
The Oskar Blues Brewery location in North Austin, Texas has closed, the fifth brewery to close in Austin in the last two years according to ProBrewer.
The Longmont, Colorado-headquartered brewer opened the 50,000 square foot Austin location in 2016, a 7,000 square foot taproom and entertainment space that unexpectedly closed on November 2nd. The location has already been wiped from the company’s website, the phone number has been disconnected, it’s like it never happened.
Oskar Blues Austin’s sudden closure is but the latest in an accelerating number of craft breweries shuttering their doors in Austin’s metro area which includes Circle Brewing, Thirsty Planet (which also closed without notice) and 4th Tap.
Oskar Blues Brewery still has a second brewpub location in Brevard, North Carolina.
Words to Drink By
“Just because it happened to you doesn’t mean it’s interesting” – Dennis Hopper, American actor and film director
(Courtesy Samuel Adams Brewing)
Pricy Beer Banned In 15 States
On October 31, Boston Beer, home to the Samuel Adams brand, announced the release its 2023 Utopias beer. And even if you can afford it (this monster retails for $240 this year and some stores will even mark it up higher) its alcohol count is so high, at least for a beer, that it’s banned in 15 states.
By law, Utopias cannot be sold in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia.
And while Utopias is banned in a number of southern states, who historically have been the last to update their Post-Prohibition alcohol regulations, its sobering to note that it’s also illegal in Oregon and New Hampshire, two states with rich craft beer cultures.
Maybe the problem is Utopias itself…
It’s marketed as beer but the drink itself really owes more to vintage port or sherry. Due to its high 28% ABV (alcohol by volume) which effectively consumes any available CO2, this beer has no detectable carbonation. Yes, it’s malt-forward but it lays on the tongue more like cognac than any beer you’ve ever had.
###
