Ballast Point Chicago Faced Challenges from the Start

On Tuesday, Ballast Point Brewing owners announced that they would be closing the brewpub in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood for good. The location was open for just under three years and while the pandemic definitely played a factor, the location for the brewpub was always going to present big challenges.

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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | December 5, 2019

The Denver Beer Beat is a weekly roundup of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, and more happening in the Front Range and beyond. Be sure to check in each Wednesday to discover anything and everything happening around Colorado’s beer scene. Now let’s get to this week’s can’t miss beer events. Read More

Kings & Convicts Brewing Co-Founder on Today’s Ballast Point Acquisition

When Ballast Point was sold to Constellation Brands in 2015 for $1 billion it made big news. It made even bigger news this afternoon when tiny Chicagoland brewery, Kings & Convicts Brewing announced they had purchased the San Diego-based brewery.

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Four New Session IPAs Perfect for the Long Hours of March Madness

The calendar year is full of great sports events, but there is arguably no better multi-day sports period than the opening weekend of March Madness. From early Thursday to late Sunday, college basketball fans, avid gamblers, and college alumni alike will gather around computer screens, flat-screen TVs and in stadiums across the nation to cheer on their favorite team. It’s an experience that frays the nerves, especially if you have a team you’re rooting for or money on the line. It’s also one that is ideal for your favorite beverage of choice—several of them in fact. Whether you’re on your couch or on a bar-stool, the non-stop basketball action for the opening weekend deserves a light yet flavorful beer that’s high on hops but low on alcohol. Here are four new Session IPAs that should make it into your starting lineup this weekend.

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Ballast Point Brewing | Fathom IPA

Ballast Point made a fantastic decision in opening their East Coast location in southwest Virginia. Daleville is near rolling mountains outside of Roanoke and has a cluster of outposts from well-known breweries, like Deschutes, Starr Hill and soon, Three Notch’d. Ballast Point’s production brewery, tasting room and restaurant opened in 2017 and has floor-to-ceiling windows to take in the landscape.

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Ballast Point Set to Open New Chicago Brewery

The West Coast meets the Midwest on Tuesday when Ballast Point Brewing Company opens its Chicago brewery in the West Loop neighborhood. The long-awaited opening adds another well-known beer name to the city’s beer scene.

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The Weekly Buzz | March 16 – 22

I had planned on writing something political this week. The urge to create a good old-fashioned doom-and-gloom post was almost undeniable, but it turns out that I don’t have the energy. There is simply no fuel left in my tank. We had a snowstorm on the second day of spring, which led to a lot of unwelcome shoveling. I had to replace the battery in my fiancee’s car (in the midst of the heaped-up snow). It’s just been one of those weeks. Here’s some stuff from Twitter and Instagram. I’ll be in bed drinking beer and enjoying my Weekly Buzz.
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Sculpin Standout | How Ballast Point Crafted an IPA That Stands the Test of Time

I remember sitting on the patio of Ballast Point’s Little Italy taproom in San Diego a few years ago sipping on a fresh Grapefruit Sculpin. At the time, I marveled at how impressive that beer tasted – the combination of mellow bitterness and fruity overtones came together in perfect harmony. It was one of the best beers I’ve ever tasted, and it’s still a beer I weigh other fruited IPAs against. Introduced in 2005, Ballast Point’s Sculpin IPA has become a pace setter in the American craft beer scene — especially for West Coast IPAs.
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Chicago Quick Sips | December 4

Quick Sips is our way of highlighting beer events, tap takeovers and other notable beer news around the city of Chicago. If you’d like to submit something to be included in the next Quick Sips, please email us at [email protected].

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Shut Up and Brew: How Do We Deal with Brewery Politics?

On March 10, 2003, Natalie Mains of the Dixie Chicks told a crowd of concert goers in England that she was ashamed that President Bush was from Texas, because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The backlash was immediate and harsh when the statement was taken out of its anti-war context and presented in the light of ‘we are ashamed of Bush’. It led to a near industry-wide blackout of the Dixie Chicks, who at the time were arguably the biggest country music act to obtain success beyond Nashville since Garth Brooks. As we move along through the first months of the Trump regime, with all the protests and boycotts that have come along with it, it looked like the craft beer world may be dragged into the fray as well.

The Dixie Chicks spoke for themselves, but what happens when a corporation speaks for one of its members? Just ask Ballast Point.

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BREAKING | Ballast Point Brewing Announces Virginia Location

Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits, the 11th largest craft brewer in the United States in 2015, will invest approximately $48 million to establish an East Coast Brewing operation in Botetourt County, Virginia. This is fourth major brewery to expand towards the Old Dominion state. The most recent of which, Oregan-based Deschutes Brewery, recently announced plans to move into Roanoke around 2019. With the two locations being a mere 20 minutes away, Virginia is looking to bring craft beer tourism to new heights. Read More

Ultimate 6er | Social Media Networks

Are there two things bigger right now than social media and craft beer? Just about everyone is on social media in some way or another and the craft beer industry is seeing a new brewery open up seemingly every week. For this week’s Ultimate 6er I paired six of the most popular social media networks with a beer that I think it best represents.

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Playing Tap Roulette With Ballast Point’s Indra Kunindra

Indra Kunindra

ABV: 7.0%, IBU: 50

It’s a terrifying moment. As you and your crew walk into your favorite beer bar, a familiar call rings out from the back of your pack “first ones on me, what do you want”. Hooray! Right? Or maybe not. This bar has a great selection, always something new, but it’s going to take you at least 5 minutes on Google to sort out what looks like a Stone tap on the left, the Southern Tier on the right, or the 8 obscurities in between. You don’t have that kind of time. Ok, no Guinness tonight, not a Stone IPA night either. What’s that on the right? Ballast Point? But you can’t read the tap from back here. They just made it across the state line, and you know they make a kick ass IPA. Screw it. Time to play Tap Roulette. Read More