Guild Hall Brewing (Jenkintown, PA) - closing

When there are so many other quality options in the area (Hands, Forest and Main, Neshaminy Creek, Vault), this isn't a great loss. I never went, but my friends who did said the beer was terrible.

 

It's a shame because they put a ton of money and time into the building.
Beer was extremely unspectacular. I never got to try the food, but it smelled decent.
Seemed an odd choice to focus on a British menu when the Drake and King's Corner were both within walking distance and already established with British style food.

 

Indeed. I was there opening day. The beers were thoroughly mediocre. I also wondered why every beer had an ABV of between 3.8% and 5.4%... their ~10% miscalibration of their system makes sense.

 

Heard via mere acquaintances how awful both the food and beer were, however, it was close to the time of opening. Not sure how much better it could have gotten, though, considering the extremely short timeframe. Based on all of this, it just sounds like a lot of negligence. It's a horrible situation to be in, however, they really put the onus on themselves here, it would seem.

 

Was there a couple weeks after they opened; the meal I had was pretty good but the beer, as others have said, was mediocre at best. Hope they get another shot at it though.

 

I heard through a knowledgeable beer friend of mine that today, October 30, 2015, Guild Hall Brewing in Jenkintown, PA was closing. I don't live in the immediate area and never have been there since it opened in April 2015, so I don't have any first-hand experience of the beer, food or service offered at the brewpub. Is there any local BAs aware of what the situation is and, if it is closing, why?

 

Here you go:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...ng-jenkintown-pa-closing.349157/#post-4194284

 

Agreed on the above opinions. My wife and I went a few times. We *really* wanted to like it, since it is walking distance to our house. The food was average at best (and sub-standard for some items). The beer was bland and unspectacular, and almost interchangable.

I read about the equipment miscalibration, and that makes sense. Earlier on Yelp, the owners said that they also had an early glass cleaning issue, and some soap on the glasses also changed the taste. I suspect it was far more the former than the latter. Either way, they offered a number of bland beers.

I was there on opening night and the place was MOBBED all night. I mean jam packed. After that, attendance was light whenever I went past. When we were there the second time, it was pretty empty on a Saturday night. Less than 300 feet away, The Drake was crowded as always.

I think it came down to not being ready from a food and beer perspective, and not having the capital to stay afloat while working things out. Being able to stay open for only 4 months doesn't give you much time to fix issues and regain any customers alienated by the food and/or beer.

I am hoping that they can fix it and reopen. They spent a long time completely renovating the building, it looked amazing. It would be a shame to throw away all of that effort.

Steve in Phily

 

As @jmdrpi posted in the Phoenixville thread: "You only have one chance for a first impression."

Even is they were able to obtain investors to re-open this business I am unsure whether you would get the crowds necessary to make this business viable. If I went there opening night and had a bad food and beer experience I am uncertain whether I would return there.

Cheers!

 

Based on all the foibles described, I'd be really surprised if they somehow did manage to find investors. I think it's really unusual for a business to fail like this, close its doors, and refuse to sell off the business claiming that they do know what they're doing and that it's a mere matter of capital. Perhaps they're hoping an investor would not be privy to the pattern that is otherwise quite evident via social media. It'll be mildly interesting to see what happens over the next few months, but failure to be a moneymaker is typically not a great selling point.

EDIT: I know someone who did inquire on investing in the business when their closure was first announced. He initially inquired about buying the brew system, then they maintained that they wish to keep everything in tact and only wanted investors. He countered by asking what they were looking for (i.e. capital needed, % stake, etc.) and they have not answered

 

Even if you had heard, possibly from friends, that they had improved with time? Just curious Jack. I have zero stake in this business.

 

I suppose it would depend on how disappointing my first experience was there.

I should state for transparency that I am spoiled in that there are so many excellent breweries/brewpubs near me. I would have to ask myself: why go to Guild Hall when I could instead go to Tired Hands, Forest & Main, Victory Brewpub,...?

Cheers!

 

I know they had initially tried to raise funding through a Kickstarter program and that fell short, so I don't think that there are untapped reserves for them to try to gather to reorganize.
Is the person you know who inquired about the equipment named Steve by chance?

 

I hate to see anyone lose their business, its sad all around.

But...it seems like they were not prepared to own a business. Closing after 4 months because you ran out of capital has nothing to do with brewing its more businesses acumen, most business should be prepared to operate in the red for a while.

Not realizing your 7-barrel tanks were out of calibration...I mean, this is no ones fault but theirs, pretty big thing to overlook.

 

No

 

Wasn't the brewer here the same guy who put out terrible product at the General Lafayette back in the day before they closed?