Ale Syndicate and Arcade Brewery closing

This is a real fucked up story and I don't see how Ale Syndicate could save face after this. I wouldn't buy their beer again.

 

Super unfortunate and messed up, I really can't say I loved many of either breweries beer...

 

Some of my beer Twitter feeds made it sound like such a bad day for Chicago beer, but this really doesn't impact me from a beer perspective. Too bad for folks to lose their business, but this shows why it's not easy running a small business. Sounds like Arcade got squeezed out a bit, but it seems like them officially closing still says something about their viability.

 

I don't buy their beer as it is, but yeah, definitely not starting now.

 

I remember hearing about Arcade's upcoming launch back at Hoptacular in like 2010 or 2011. 6 years later a lot of other people have gotten breweries off the ground and they seem to be behind the curve.

All those smaller guys getting shut out due to this may want to look into that new Chicago contract brewer: Grand Central Brewing.

 

Kind of shitting on their grave I guess, but I had the Mega Milk last year sometime and thought "Last Arcade beer I ever have"...which seems to now be the case for sure.

 

Not putting them down, just stating the fact. They announced their beer long before a lot of the newer Chicago places even considered opening a brewery and have beaten them to market and sales. For example no one had even heard of John Laffler when Arcade announced their intents and since then John has been a lauded GI brewer, started his own brewery and announced his second location...

 

I wasn't implying that you were shitting on their grave, but that I was!

 

Yeah, I remember seeing them at that event also, and then getting an email twice a year with a bunch of noise not relating to actually brewing beer commercially. By the time I saw their stuff for sale, I had zero interest in their product.

It's kind of a shame, because had they gotten off the ground, they were positioned perfectly to be ahead of the boom with pipeworks and spiteful, big as such were too late and were just one of a number of breweries whose stuff I pass right by while grabbing the Pipeworks of Bells beer.

 

What I took from the Tribune article was that Ale Syndicate looked at the Arcade guys in the face (and from what I gather, at least one other brewery), for months, and said nothing. And saying that not knowing the license lapsed is "not in [your] department"? F U. You are one of two owners, the other being your own brother.
It sucks for Arcade as well, and I don't disagree with the sentiments above. I do disagree with this being a sign the bubble is bursting, or the market is being corrected, or whatever on the industry level. This was poor business on one's part, and others suffered for it. If nothing else, business aside, they could have been straight with Arcade so that they could have found another home.

 

The bubble isn't necessarily bursting, but I'd say the bubble is definitely less tolerant of lack of interest (ability?) in managing the business side of a brewery than it was a few years ago.

You want to succeed today, you better be in it to win it.

 

This could theoretically have some wild trickle down consequences too.

If their license lapsed in April and they kept brewing, where did the beer go? They wouldn't have been legally allowed to sell it.

 

I thought the Adventures of Dutch Courage concept (6 unique labels tells a comic story) was really clever though they cost was $15 at Whole Foods and the beer was pretty bad to be honest.

 

Taxes payable must not be his department, either.

But brewery relocation services is his department it seems!

 

I saw an instagram post TODAY of a store that just got one of Ale Syndicate's beer.

Agree with what was said on the "not my department" comment. That's crap.

 

The beer all of these breweries produce is average. Is it something I'm going to the store saying "damn gotta have that latest ale syndicate <insert any other brewery mentioned in Trib article> beer this weekend!". My guess is no.

 

Who's checking? If I lose my driver's license, it's quite possible to keep driving, albeit illegally. I don't know what kind of safeguards are in place re: a brewer's license.

 

Honestly, my read on the "not my department comment" wasn't that he was truly unaware, but that he didn't have anything other than a bad answer to the question, so he was feigning ignorance.

 

This one is going be an ugly mess to undo, and I feel for everyone involved who got caught on the receiving end of some very irresponsible decisions and for the bad blood those decisions and the silence around them will have most certainly drawn for the parties involved.

 

Mega Milk II was $2 off at OP Binny's yesterday. It was the last one Now I know why.

The Chicago market is so saturated with breweries. Sad to say most won't even notice these two are gone unless they read the article or BA.

 

Probably nobody, but when you get pulled over you'll leave in cuffs.

The ILCC is going to destroy these guys. I know the article says Ale Syndicate is planning to brew again in 2017 but... I don't see it happening. The fines that are about to be levied against them are going to make that impossible. If they can't pay rent/taxes, the future is bleak.

 

I think one lesson for all fledgling breweries is to realize that the esprit de corps that is often projected in the craft beer community can easily crumble when hundreds of thousands in loans are on the line.

 

I'm not surprised. So many breweries fighting for our dollars now.

 

And this makes me appreciate the little guys right now. Because they have to work because they have to give a damn. Ale Syndicate/New Chicago sounded like a cool thing to do because Chicago was a cool place to be.

 

Someone should buy the rights to all the failing breweries line-ups, recipes and trademarks and in 5 years launch a best of retro nostalgia brewery that cans all their favorites....

 

I like it. Maybe a "Retro Craft Brewery and Retro Video Game" combo?

 

It's not when you get pulled over, it's if you get pulled over.

That was my point in response to the "where did the beer go" question if Ale Syndicate didn't have a license. It seems pretty obvious. They sold it and apparently weren't caught operating without the license, just like how most legal infractions likely aren't notice.

You're right, though, that now that their non-compliance has been this widely publicized, I'd have to imagine that would create some real difficulty down the line if they do indeed try to legally make beer in the state again. I am not familiar, though, with how substantial the fines are for a violation like this, nor do I have any idea how they would stack up against the other apparent debt obligations of the company.

 

The IP of recipes isn't really protectable in the first place. That's an interesting idea, though, to buy up the rights to the trade dress, beer names, etc., and I won't be shocked if it happens.

 

I don't even know if you would have to buy it. You could probably just file for trademark, as it's not like Arcade brewing will be defending their brand very diligently.

Dick move to do, but I'm sure you could do it. (Outside of the artwork).

 

Chrisian Moerlein in Cincinnati did this with a number of older Cincinnati beers like Hudepohl and Little Kings. Those have way more history than a place like Arcade or Ale Syndicate - but it's an idea that's been done elsewhere for sure.