3 Floyds permanently closing Munster brewpub

Harley Davidson’s sales have been on the decline for the better part of a decade. No one is shelling out 15k+ on motorcycles anymore. The boomers who propped that market up are either, dead, dying, or too old/too poor of health to ride anymore let alone buy a new bike lol

 

My two cents is why did they spend all that money getting architectural renderings for a huge campus expansion that would double the size of the brewpub, spend time petitioning the city for tax abatements if built, only to conclude that their brewpub wasn't profitable and they would shut it down?

 

It must have been a huge inside joke.

 

On the back of the BA/DL convo, has anyone tried a Yella Rrari yet?

Not sure about the "Pale Stout" label, seems to land somewhere between a RiS and a Barleywine, but, I found it a very pleasant pour. Somewhere between a raisenet and a strong coffee.

 

And acquire the building to the south, and demolish it for the project. They must have not been able to secure financing or something.

 

yeah, I commented about that somewhere. I found the Burple Ghatti to be significantly better- was balanced, smooth and well rounded whereas I felt Yella had harsh edges. It was almost like Yella was aged in rye barrels compared to Burple’s bourbon, which may just be a testament to the quality barrels binnys is giving their collab partners.

 

did they not already own it? Releasing a multi million dollar development plan for a property you don’t yet own would cause the current owner to jack up the sale price

 

Yeah they also purchased all the nearby properties in order to have room for the expansion. Would seem like a waste to just own some empty fields.

Of course, getting rid of the investors was likely the play all along here. I think the investors were pretty upset when they got their final letters informing them that all they were getting in the end was a 4-pack of Dark Lord and a random variant.

My guess is they decided to put the huge project on hold for a bit because they had recently invested heavily into the distillery & canning facility, and didn't want to also start this project so soon afterwards. Also, perhaps they just realized the project was too ambitious and risky, many breweries did large expansions over the past decade that they now regret with so much more competition out there.

Perhaps they go through with a version of it someday, but this time the can do so without the investors and can blame COVID for the brewpub closure instead of finding some way to force them out at a later date.

 

I really wish I could take a peek at FFF's Books. I always assumed they are just printing money at that place. I've had the same experience as others - a 20 person line for the kiosk in the middle of the afternoon on a Monday. People coming out with cases and cases. Always a wait at the BrewPub, always see the regulars there, always great reviews. I mean, either they gave all their money to Bernie Madoff, or they are just loaded. Or, I'm completely reading it wrong and they pay all their workers at the top of their professions and give out 25% 401K matches and pay 100% top-o-the-line insurance. And all their margins are razor thin and they are barely surviving. Just hoping to make it another day to sell their quota. It is like an inside joke now, but none of us are in on it.

Just because someone is a good brewer doesn't mean they are a good businessperson. Just because their business is thriving doesn't mean their personal finances are in a healthy place. So really we'll never know.

 

Their brewpub was pretty tiny, especially relative to their popularity at their peak. Their prices were pretty low too, frequently $5 taps and $10 6 packs out of the kiosk (obviously I'm not counting Dark Lord/variants). Imagine what some other breweries would charge back when you just about had to perform sexual favors for your local beer buyer to get a sixer of Zombie Dust.

 

Hmmm.... maybe that's why the Zombie Dust tastes different nowadays.

 

20-person lines and that hasn't been the case for a couple of years, even on the weekends. They did pay their workers well, etc., and offered health insurance and (gasp) paid vacations! I guess that makes them bad business people in this current environment.....

 

The building to the south was an engineering firm's offices or something similar. It was a good building, and wasn't begging to be torn down. Floyds bought it and demolished as part of the new project.

I remember seeing people (ahem....) wrestling in that building's koi pond at DLD in maybe 2011 or 2012?

 

Awesome. I was viewing from afar, off to the left in that photo. That year got crazy - do you know what year it was?

 

You’re worse than a reality show editor. Do I have to wait until the next episode to see how this ends?!?!?

 

If memory serves, and it was DLD, the Munster Po-Po walked in and dispersed the crowd.

Or, memory could be DLD addled.

 

2011

 

C'mon titty!