Sadly, Three Pints Brewing Company has closed.

I wrote these words when Cutters Brewing Company ceased operations last March.

In any quasi-free market (whatever that means), there'll always be an attrition rate, and for a wide and staggering number of reasons ... I'm intimately familiar with this reality: "A tightrope of location, distribution, marketing and operations must be walked." You say that production scale and distribution will be the answer? Maybe it will, but .... the death of a brewery is a death in the family.

These sentiments come back to me as Tom Hynes of Three Pints offers this classy send-off, which I reprint here in its entirety, drawing from it one crucial point:

"For breweries where distribution is a key part of their business model, the increased competition has been tough."

Ominous.

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Three Pints Brewing Co. - Martinsville

January 18th, 2016

It with with much sadness that I announce the closure of Three Pints Brewing Company, effective immediately.

It has been a great run, starting in 2010 when we opened the brewpub in Plainfield, to the opening of our production brewery in Martinsville in 2014. As you know, the craft brewing industry has boomed during this time, with many new breweries opening and many exceptional beers being brewed, especially in Indiana. This is great news for all of us craft beer lovers! In general it is also great news for our industry, as it has raised the public's awareness of craft beer, chipping away at the mega-brewery market share. But for breweries where distribution is a key part of their business model, the increased competition has been tough.

Although this is a sad day, I have a lot to be thankful for.

First and foremost I want to thank all of the incredibleThree Pints fans in Plainfield, Martinsville, and across the state who supported us, inspired us, and most of all, became lifelong friends. I am honored and humbled by your tireless advocacy, and will treasure the many memories. THANK YOU!

I also want to thank the city and the people of Martinsville for the warmest welcome and continued support a business could ever ask for. I've made plenty of mistakes in this business, but choosing Martinsville when we expanded was not one of them.

Finally, I want to thank all of the wonderful, hardworking, and loyal employees I've had the privilege to work with over these years. I will miss your daily humor and companionship.

It's been a fun and rewarding ride, and I truly feel blessed to have been part of Indiana's craft beer community. Drink Indiana!

Cheers,
Tom Hynes
Owner, Head Brewer
Three Pints Brewing, Co.

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The sobering story of a brewpub's very brief life.

Consider all the familiar cues and motifs in a scary movie: Creaking floorboards, shadows, faces behind a smudgy window, and many more, leading inevitably to slashing and mayhem.

They're all here in this account of a brewpub's failure: Under-capitalization, a few bad opening batches, on-line beer geek tyranny, and a few more for good measure, leading to an unexpected business failure.

One goose-bump generator missing here is the package learning curve, which someone should take the time to chart on a graph: The exponential growth in beer production does not match the availability of draft lines and shelf space outside a brewer's direct control.

Down the drain: A brewpub fails in just 4 months (Joe Sixpack)

On the morning after the last night at Guild Hall, a crew of volunteers mopped floors while the owners held back the tears.

Four months. Just four lousy, four splendid, four heartbreaking months – that’s all the beautiful downtown Jenkintown brewpub lasted before Jennifer McGuire and her husband, Owen Hutchins, decided to close its doors.

With breweries opening at a rate of more than one per day, it’s rare to hear of one closing. In 2014, there were all of 23 failures nationwide, according to the Colorado-based Brewers Association which represents small breweries.

So, when I stopped by the brewpub on Sunday morning, it was partly to commiserate (for no one wants to see a business fail and employees lose their jobs) and partly to find out how a brewpub could go belly-up in the midst of the great craft-beer boom.

Some déjà vu on the unfortunate closing of My Old Kentucky Homebrew and its brew-on-premise facility.

Photo credit: Kelly.

My Old Kentucky Homebrew was in business for six years before owner Paul Young pulled the plug earlier this week, and I hate to see it go. I don't brew at home, but of course know many who do.

Interestingly, Young believes MOKH's rarely seen brew-on-premise (BOP) was at least partially the blame.

Young partially attributes the closure to a surprising lack of interest in the brew-on-premise operation he added about nine months ago. He knew at the time of launch he needed to brew about 15 batches a month to break even, but in that time, fewer than 20 people have used the system. In April and May, he says, it was “barely used.”

In short, a big investment with little return.

If memory serves, the last time someone attempted a BOP in Kentucky was at the ill-fated (or just ahead of its time?) Brew Works at the Party Source in Covington. I'm not sure that one ever got off the ground owing to unsympathetic state laws and the short life span of the business.

Refresh your memory about Brew Works here. A video from the fall of 2014 shows how the Brew On Premise at MOKH was supposed to work, and Gibson also explained the idea at the inception in detail, right here.

My two cents: Homebrewing thrives in selected atmospheric conditions. It will pick up when the economy is bad, and wherever the do-it-yourself among us become hooked on the obsessive hobbyist aspect of the exercise. The sheer abundance of good beer these days, representing numerous styles at different price points in different packages, is a new variable in the equation.

Unfortunately, MOKH may have experienced this sort of fallout. All the best to whatever Paul does in the future, and thanks for your efforts.

My Old Kentucky Homebrew to close by end of June, by Kevin Gibson (Insider Louisville)

Paul Young sits staring at nothing at all. He says it still doesn’t seem real, but he has nevertheless decided he must close My Old Kentucky Homebrew, the business he launched six-and-a-half years ago to serve local brewers.

Sales have waned in 2015 to the point that a tough decision had to be made, he says.

“This is not a decision I want to make,” he says.

The homebrew shop, located at 361 Baxter Ave., will be open mostly only on weekends through Father’s Day, he says. Young informed the owner of the rented space he will be out by the end of June.

R.I.P., Cutters Brewing Company.

Yes, I knew this sad announcement was likely prior to concluding my most recent column with bullishness about Hoosier brewing. The Cutters situation was mentioned in several discussions over the weekend.

In any quasi-free market (whatever that means), there'll always be an attrition rate, and for a wide and staggering number of reasons -- including whichever variant of "democracy" (huh?) is being practiced in your new hometown.

I'm intimately familiar with this reality: "A tightrope of location, distribution, marketing and operations must be walked." You say that production scale and distribution will be the answer? Maybe it will, but be sure to pin down the sewer utility before writing checks.

The death of a brewery is a death in the family. Best of luck to the Cutters crew; I hope there'll be positions for you at Indianapolis breweries.

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Cutters Brewing Company LLC

On behalf of the owners and operators of the Cutters Brewing Company, Avon IN, it's with tremendous regret that we must announce that all brewing operations will cease immediately.

We would like to thank the Indiana craft beer community—its fans, festival goers, suppliers and retailers—for their support over the last four years. We were very proud of the southern Indiana heritage and values represented in our brand and our recipes. It was an interesting, challenging and educational ride while it lasted.

Launching a small business demands certain sacrifices. We knew that competing in the exploding craft beer business would not be easy. It not only takes sellable products but a tightrope of location, distribution, marketing and operations must be walked.

We knew we would make our share of missteps and hoped that none of those miscues would be fatal. However, ultimately, it was our inability come to a reasonable resolution with the Avon Sewage Company, whom we believe was simply extorting us for exorbitant sums, that precipitated the decision to close.

While our remaining inventory will likely be in market for a period of time, we will be winding down operations effective immediately, which includes participation in upcoming Indiana craft beer events and the operation of our tasting room.

Thanks again to all who worked hard and supported our efforts, we couldn’t grown from a tiny nano brewery operation to a full-scale production brewery without you!

We remain ardent supporters of the craft beer industry in general. The men and women who make up this calling are by and large a most genuine, selfless, hardworking, inventive and caring group. We were proud to name ourselves among their number.

Of Maido's demise and Dragon King's Daughter's arrival..

Maido Essential Japanese is no more. The Frankfort Avenue (Louisville) establishment was a favorite of ours for more than seven years (first mention here was in 2005), and lately, the food had gotten better again after a lull following a management change.

I'll always recall and admire the way that Jim Huie handled the beer list during his tenure. Thanks; it was a gem, Jim.

Meanwhile, Maido's original owner, Toki Masabuchi, now the guiding force behind Dragon King's Daughter, is otherwise occupied. The build-out for the New Albany branch of DKD on the corner of Bank and Elm remains under way, albeit it slowly. The crew at Bank Street Brewhouse looks forward to DKD's arrival. So do my wallet and waistline. Sushi downtown? Please.

RIP: Mishawaka Brewing.

The Hoosier Beer Geeks site breaks the sad news:

"Mishawaka Brewing Company Has Closed"

Mishawaka Brewing’s venerable brewpub opened in 1992 as perhaps the second in the whole state. It closed in 2008, but the Schmidts plowed ahead at their more recent production facility in Elkhart. I’d been hearing rumors of the closure, and dismissed them, seeing as nothing was said at the Brewers of Indiana Guild’s annual meeting two Saturdays ago. So much for wishful thinking.

Tom Schmidt forever endeared himself to the FOSSILS homebrewing club by driving all the way down to New Albany in winter, circa 1993, and speaking to the club in the company of voluminous samples – a brace of pony kegs, if memory serves. He later said that the fearsome reputation of Walking the Dog, the club’s newsletter, ensured a “yes” answer. It was a noble gesture in any event.

Breweries dying are like people dying. Neither man nor brewery is an island, and we are connected by commonalities of aspiration and experience. When I hear news like this, my reaction is militant: We shall overcome, and two breweries will arise where one previously stood. We’ll carry that flag, and we’ll carry that weight.

But stridence masks the grieving process, doesn’t it?

Maybe the Schmidts can come down now, visit, and just have a simple beer with NABC.

Blue River Cafe in Milltown destroyed by fire.

It was a bastion of good beer in a part of the state not noted for choices, a wonderful place to eat, and a cool old building, too. When there's more to report, I will. Beware the WHAS-11 website's proclivity for annoying pop-up ads.

Blue River Cafe in Milltown destroyed by fire

There were no reports of any injuries to firefighters and no one was believed to be inside the business when the fire started.

The orginal Mishawaka Brew Pub is closing, but beer will continue to flow.

From Bob Ostrander comes sad news, which is rendered doubly compelling for me when one considers that in 2009, NABC's original location on Grant Line Road in New Albany will be coping with the very same factors cited by the Schmidts, with the exception of the smoking ban (for a while, at least). I'm not as strident about the issue as Tom, but for us, the smoking ban (since vetoed) accompanied by the other factors would constitute a tough nut to crack in '09.

We, too, have greater restaurant competition, prospective road construction and the likelihood of higher property taxes for business.

Here's the overview from Bob: "The second oldest brewpub in Indiana, Mishawaka Brew Pub, is closing. But their other tap house, The Pub, and the new brewery in Elkhart will continue business as usual."

Strategic planning is a good thing. Wondering about the urgency of surmounting financing obstacles and getting a second revenue stream started at our Bank Street location? Wonder no more. Based on current realities, we're looking to open the tap room in February and the brewery in April or May ... about the same time that Grant Line Road construction gets under way.

Here's the Mishawaka press release.

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The Brew Pub Ltd. restaurant located at 3703 North Main Street, Mishawaka will be closing at the end of business on December 3, 2008.

The last few years have been a struggle with the increased competition of an unbelievable number of new restaurants, the closing of Main Street for an extended period of time, high property taxes, the smoking ban and the current recession.

We had an extension on the smoking ban and went to no smoking in September, 2007. In the first year after going non smoking, sales decreased over $120,000. Politicians obviously know what is best for us. Just keep raising taxes and meddling in business operations and then complain about governments falling revenues.

Under the current conditions we decided that it was time to pull the plug on the life support.

It should be noted for those who are not familiar with our structure that The Brew Pub Ltd is a corporation separate from The Mishawaka Brewing Company and The Pub (located at 408 W. Cleveland, Mishawaka at the corner of Grape & Cleveland).

The Mishawaka Brewing Company has continued to grow and in 2006 we opened a production brewery in Elkhart, IN. We will be consolidating the two brewing operations at our Elkhart location. Distribution will continue unchanged.

The Brew Pub Ltd restaurant was opened on October 19, 1992 and has been operating for over 16 years. We will miss it dearly as it has been our home away from home.

Economic times are tough, but the beers of The Mishawaka Brewing Company will continue to flow. All brewing, bottling, pigging and kegging will now be done in Elkhart. All of the beer will still be available for carry out at The Pub and at the brewery location in Elkhart including growlers, kegs and Party Pigs.

Tom, Barbara, Rick & Tami Schmidt

Goose Island's original Clybourn brewpub to close by year-end.

The first American brewpub I ever visited, in the spring of 1992, was Goose Island’s original location in Chicago.

Goose Island to close Clybourn spot, by DAVID ROEDER, Chicago Sun-Times staff reporter.

Goose Island Beer Co. said Monday it will close its original brewpub at 1800 N. Clybourn by year-end because it has lost its lease.

The Chicago-based company, founded at the Clybourn site in 1988, will continue to operate its Wrigleyville Brewpub at 3535 N. Clark and to brew and ship beer from 1800 W. Fulton.

There are dim memories of sitting outdoors on the patio, noting the neighborhood’s industrial surroundings, and drinking a sampler platter. I recall being impressed by all of them.

On the same trip to Chicago, we dined and drank at the Berghoff German restaurant downtown and drank dollar-and-a-quarter happy hour Porters made by the Berghoff’s affiliated microbrewery while standing at an adjoining stand-up saloon. As far as I know, all these establishments are gone.

But the losses don’t depress me, because bricks and mortar pale in significance to lessons learned, and in terms of influence, the 1992 journey to Chicago was personally vital. Goose Island’s set-up was a reviving urban area template for the pub brewing business, and the downtown, after-work ambience of the Berghoff’s tiny standup bar another model for enjoying pints on the run.

All of it was good. Thanks to Dave for clueing me in.

New Albany's Speakeasy will close after a final bash on Wednesday, October 29.

The news came Friday that New Albany's Speakeasy restaurant and jazz venue is closing its doors. The final going-away party is Wednesday, October 29.

At NAC: Final "Big Band Dance and Concert" next Wednesday at Speakeasy ... then, lights out.

Post-mortems will include references to the state of the economy, but it really wasn't that simple. Throughout its roughly 15-month run, the Speakeasy was acclaimed for physical ambience and the unique nature of the jazz and dancing concept. Unfortunately, consistency in service, food and drink proved elusive, and the learning curve was slow.

Anyone who has ever worked in the "hospitality" business knows how maddening it can be to translate a great concept into a functional entity on a day-to-day basis. It's never exactly the way you'd like it to be, even after (in my case) 16 years hashing it out. The bottom line revolves around your ability to make customers feel good about paying you for the service, and to make them feel good enough that they'll come back and repeat the process. It's glib, but its true. The marketplace is unforgiving in the best of times, and when money's tighter, the work becomes harder. Speakeasy never really mastered that equation, and speaking only for myself, I wish there'd have been a way for me to be of more assistance to the owners. The plan was great, and the execution wasn't.

What happens now? It has long been rumored that Louisville-area operators have an interest in the location, and the building's owner is committed to doing what he must to fill the space even if it takes time to find the right tenant. It seems unlikely to me that the name and concept will live on, but perhaps we'll all be pleasantly surprised.

It's true that the economy is far from ideal, and yet prospective occupants of the Speakeasy site should note that it lies only half a block from the new YMCA, which will be opening in mid-November, and is expected to attract several thousand members a week to downtown New Albany.

I feel bad for the Tharps. I know that the Speakeasy was their dream, and they're in a rough place now. They tried their best, and things didn't work out, but you have to give them credit for the effort.

At the same time, we must be thinking of what comes next. Prospects for downtown New Albany remain bright. It's all a matter of finding the right combination.

At NAC: Open thread: Speakeasy will close on Wednesday, October 29.