Metropolitan Brewing

Metropolitan Brewing
IndustryAlcoholic beverage
FoundedDecember 2008
FoundersDoug Hurst and Tracy Hurst
DefunctDecember 18, 2023
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
,
USA
Number of locations
(1) Avondale neighborhood, Chicago, IL
Area served
Illinois, Wisconsin
ProductsBeer
OwnersDoug Hurst and Tracy Hurst
Number of employees
6
Websitemetrobrewing.com

Metropolitan Brewing was a brewery located in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 2008 by then-husband and wife team Doug and Tracy Hurst.[1] It was originally located in a converted warehouse in a historically industrial area of the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago. [2] In 2017, they moved to a larger facility with a taproom at 3057 N Rockwell Street in Chicago.[3]

Metropolitan focused exclusively on brewing lagers in the traditional German style,[4] the only craft brewery in Chicago to do so.[5] Doug Hurst earned a brewing diploma at the Siebel Institute of Technology.[6]

In December 2019, Metropolitan became embroiled in a long-running dispute with their landlord over rent and the square-footage of their building, saying the lease they agreed to was 24,000 square feet but their landlord instead listed it as 33,000 square feet in the contact.[7] As a result, they ceased paying their full rent. In October 2023, the brewery filed for bankruptcy, noting slow sales and unsustainable debt. The brewery closed permanently on December 18th, 2023.[8]

Beers

Metropolitan Brewing's Current Beers
Name Style ABV % IBU Original gravity Offering Notes
Dynamo Vienna Lager 5.8 29 13.8° Plato Year-Round Uses Vienna malt and Vanguard and Liberty hops
Flywheel Munich Pils 5.2 45 13° Plato Year-Round
Krankshaft Kölsch 5.0 28 12° Plato Year-Round Recipe includes wheat and Santiam hops
Iron Works Alt 5.8 45 13° Plato Year-Round An update to the I-Beam recipe. Uses Mt. Hood and Vanguard hops.
Generator Doppelbock 8.2 25 18° Plato Seasonal Winter
Arc Welder Dunkel Rye 6.0 28 13.7° Plato Seasonal Spring
Afterburner Märzen/Oktoberfest 6.1 25 14.2° Plato Seasonal Fall
Metropolitan Brewing's Archived Beers
Name Style ABV % IBU Original gravity Notes
I-Beam Alt 5.3 50 12.6° Plato

References

  1. ^ Stambor, Zac. "New Suds in the Windy City". draftmag.com. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
  2. ^ Bendersky, Ari (2009-06-25). "Chicago's New Wave of Microbrews". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  3. ^ Noel, Josh. "New Metropolitan taproom easily one of Chicago's prettiest". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  4. ^ Nason, Adam (2009-01-15). "First new Chicago brewery in over six years set to launch". BeerPulse. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  5. ^ "Thinking outside the barrel". Crain's Chicago Business. 2011-06-18. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  6. ^ Kesmodel, David (2009-03-18). "In Lean Times, a Stout Dream". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  7. ^ Channick, Robert (October 20, 2023). "Metropolitan Brewing, one of Chicago's oldest craft breweries, files for bankruptcy and may close this winter". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  8. ^ Hernandez, Alex V. (November 14, 2023). "Metropolitan Brewing Closing For Good After Nearly 15 Years". Blocl Club Chicago. Retrieved 10 July 2024.

External links

  • Metropolitan Brewing Official Site