Hub City may soon be no more

johnnyik · Post by **johnnyik** » Sun Apr 03, 2011 9:28 pm

I have recently found out that Hub City Brewing is soon to be closing. They have pulled all distributing and only have the brewery open at the moment. This will soon close as well. My wife's uncle was one of their distributors and is reporting this. Sounds like debt has caught up with the owners. Sad, really. I know their beers weren't stellar but it was an Iowa brewery so you'd like to see them succeed. Well, get your Hub City brew now before it's gone!

Mr T · Post by **Mr T** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 8:44 am

Bummer...I agree... great folks. Thanks for the heads up
Sent from my U.S. CellularÂ® Android phone

johnnyik <brew-news@crbeernuts.org> wrote:

I have recently found out that Hub City Brewing is soon to be closing. They have pulled all distributing and only have the brewery open at the moment. This will soon close as well. My wife's uncle was one of their distributors and is reporting this. Sounds like debt has caught up with the owners. Sad, really. I know their beers weren't stellar but it was an Iowa brewery so you'd like to see them succeed. Well, get your Hub City brew now before it's gone!

------------------------
John Eikenberry

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BrewHound · Post by **BrewHound** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:20 am

The other sad part is while there beers were not stellar, I do think they were starting to show some promise in there beers and were starting to think more about what drinkers wanted to drink.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:50 am

That is too bad. It did seem like they were expanding really fast when they bumped up to a 30 barrel brew system recently. I hate to see any local brewery go down. Maybe the equipment will be available for someone else to give it a shot in the area.

BrewHound · Post by **BrewHound** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:12 pm

Matt F wrote:That is too bad. It did seem like they were expanding really fast when they bumped up to a 30 barrel brew system recently. I hate to see any local brewery go down. Maybe the equipment will be available for someone else to give it a shot in the area.

Slappy Brewing North?

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:17 pm

I wish, timing is just not right. I need to wait until the kids can lift 50 lbs. sacks of grain and work for free.

BrewHound · Post by **BrewHound** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:29 pm

Matt F wrote:I wish, timing is just not right. I need to wait until the kids can lift 50 lbs. sacks of grain and work for free.

Matt that is a catch 22, by the time they are big enough to lift 50 lbs sacks of grain, they are smart enough to know not to work for free.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 1:16 pm

Unfortunately, I believe you are correct.

tony b · Post by **tony b** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 4:50 pm

Too bad we didn't get to vote on this one, like American Idol. I'd have much rather seen Olde Main bite it than these guys. At least these guys were trying to improve their beers.

tompb · Post by **tompb** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 6:33 pm

Matt F wrote:That is too bad. It did seem like they were expanding really fast when they bumped up to a 30 barrel brew system recently. I hate to see any local brewery go down. Maybe the equipment will be available for someone else to give it a shot in the area.

Just take over payments.

I hate to see them go. Great people and good beer. That's the problem now for a new brewery. The beer can't just be good, it has to be great. You have to have a niche. I think you would be better off just doing "special" beers then having a regular lineup.

TappedOut · Post by **TappedOut** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:42 am

Well, a couple years ago, they unintentionally had that sour niche cornered. I'm guessing that's why they went all out on the new brewery, so they wouldn't have any more contamination issues.

But yeah, you're right. Everybody and their brother does a brown and an amber and a stout and a wheat. There was really nothing to set them apart. They were good beers, and they were working to improve, and they are such nice folks. It's sad to see them go. But it seems to be a classic case of overexpansion. That seems to happen a lot in the brewing world.

With the proliferation of breweries in the state, it's going to be interesting to see which make it and which don't. Peace Tree seems to have a good combination of unique brews and good marketing. Even Millstream is upping their game with their brewmasters series, although they could probably do pretty well with sales in Amana alone. I have hopes for Toppling Goliath, and plan to be in Decorah soon and check them out. The rest, it's hard to say. I'm not seeing a whole lot that's really compelling. I'd trade the lot of them to have Stone City back.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:49 am

I do miss filling my growlers at Stone City for about $5. I liked their seasonal stout and still get the urge for an Artist Colony here and there. Anybody know Jeff that could get us a recipe for that wonderful brown ale.

The brewery that makes an IPA like Furious would do well. The hoppy beers are the first to go at my house and many people drinking my beer are not beer geeks. Most people love the hops.

brownbeard · Post by **brownbeard** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:53 am

Never thought I would say this, but the market is flooded with good beer. There are a dozen options on the shelf for brown ales, and amber ales. You either need to sell special beers, or have a great marketing plan. Hub City was making good beer, no doubt. But their marketing was boring. So their packages did not stand out on the shelf. And, their beer was not special. It was exactly what everyone else sold.

The answer to keeping your brewery open is to make people want to grab your beer off the shelf, instead of the one next to you. One sure way to do that, is make their eyes go to your label first.

tony b · Post by **tony b** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 5:37 pm

Yeah, but Amana better step up their game. The Hop Squared is just the Schil Brau with a touch of hops and I mean just a touch. Wimpier than the Peace Tree Hop Wrangler.

TappedOut · Post by **TappedOut** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 7:55 am

The grocery store market is flooded with good beer. Maybe one day the bar tap market around here will catch up.