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 Brewing
IndustryAlcoholic beverage
FoundedDecember 2008
FoundersDoug Hurst and Tracy Hurst
DefunctDecember 18, 2023
Headquarters,
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 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

edit
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

edit
  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.
edit