Craft brewery news roundup: October 12–18, 2026
Verified brewery news for October 12–18, 2026: Stone's founders keep the Escondido gardens, TailGate buys Yazoo's brewery, Summit finds a lender, and closings.
This verified weekly roundup covers U.S. brewery developments that occurred, were announced, or received substantive new reporting from October 12 through October 18, 2026. Ownership and financing dominated the week. Stone's co-founders moved to keep the Escondido gardens open, TailGate bought Yazoo's Madison brewery, and Summit found a new lender. Several taprooms also served their last beers. Where an owner's plan depends on permits, licensing, or financing, we say so.
Openings and expansions
Mixed Culture Brewing starts a patio soft opening
Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mixed Culture Brewing began a soft opening on Friday, October 16, at 45th Street and Minnehaha Avenue, according to Racket's October 16 roundup, which credits neighborhood outlet Longfellow Whatever. Owners Qiuxia and Kevin Welch are pouring Belgian-style beer and coffee on a permitted patio while they wait for final city approval for the indoor taproom. Kevin Welch previously worked at Boom Island, Lost Coast, and MetroNOME.
Racket framed the opening as a sign of life in a struggling industry. Full approval may not arrive until early November, the report says. Until then, service is limited to the posted soft-opening dates and the patio.
Union Brewing plans a bigger home a mile north in Carmel
Carmel, Indiana. Union Brewing Co. must leave its taproom at 202 Gradle Drive by November 28 because the property's owner is not renewing leases ahead of redevelopment. In Ann Marie Shambaugh's October 15 report for Current, owner Jessica Hayden and brewer Derek Herring said the brewery will move to 513 Industrial Drive. The new space roughly doubles its size and adds a mezzanine overlooking a music stage, with a subleased kitchen.
The owners hope to reopen about a week after leaving Gradle Drive. That is a target, not a confirmed opening date. The pair also plans to add more food and bigger music acts as drinking habits change.
Business and ownership
Stone's co-founders will take over the Escondido Bistro & Gardens
Escondido, California. Stone Brewing co-founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner announced on October 14 that they will take over the Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens at 1999 Citracado Parkway and run it as an independent restaurant under a new name. Brewbound reported the plan the same day. CalMatters' report, republished by the Fresno Bee, quotes Koch's Instagram announcement and an Escondido economic development analyst. The analyst said most hospitality jobs would be preserved.
The site still closes as planned on November 13. Koch said it will reopen once the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control approves the license change, and he and Wagner are still deciding what to do with the adjacent brewery. Sapporo had planned to close the site after agreeing in April to sell the Stone brand to Firestone Walker and Duvel Moortgat. The Escondido property was not part of that sale. For fans of one of craft beer's best-known destinations, the gardens have a future, but the reopening date, the new name, and any on-site brewing plans are still unknown. For more stops in the state, see our California brewery guide.
TailGate buys Yazoo's Madison brewery and taproom
Madison, Tennessee. TailGate Brewery announced on October 13 that it had bought Yazoo Brewing's 6.5-acre production brewery and taproom in Madison, according to Adam Tamburin's report for Axios Nashville. The campus becomes TailGate's main production hub, and the taproom becomes its ninth in Tennessee. TailGate offered jobs to every Yazoo employee, and Yazoo founder Linus Hall is joining TailGate as an employee.
This is a facility deal, not a brand sale. Yazoo's beer brands joined R.S. Lipman Brewing's portfolio in 2025 and will continue to be brewed in Madison, Beer Street Journal reported. Financial terms were not disclosed. TailGate said it will take over operations later this year but gave no date for the taproom switchover.
Summit Brewing reaches a deal to avoid foreclosure
St. Paul, Minnesota. Summit Brewing said on October 15 that it had reached an agreement with BMO Bank and that a new, unnamed lender had acquired its outstanding loans. The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that the brewery expects to stay open and operate as usual. KSTP and FOX 9 also reported on Summit's statement. The company said the new lender is working with management on a recapitalization.
BMO's September 10 lawsuit said Summit owed at least $8.22 million. The Star Tribune said court records still showed the case open and that it was unclear how the agreement affects the suit. Summit did not name the lender or share terms. For a brewery founded in 1986, this is a reprieve, not a finished turnaround. Our earlier report on the foreclosure lawsuit has the background.
Alvarium files for Chapter 11 and says it will stay open
New Britain, Connecticut. Alvarium Beer Company filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition on Saturday, October 10, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Hartford, as a small-business reorganization case. Owner Brian Bugnacki announced the filing on Monday, October 12, according to Claudia S. Hilario's October 13 report in the New Britain Herald. Bugnacki wrote that the taproom, brewing, coffee roasting, and staff roles will continue while the company restructures.
The filing happened two days before this week began. We include it because the public announcement and first reporting fell inside the covered dates. A researcher quoted in Inc.'s October 14 report explains that Chapter 11 lets a business keep operating while it reorganizes. Debt totals and a reorganization plan were not reported in the sources reviewed.
Pour Man's and St. Boniface will share one Ephrata taproom
Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Pour Man's Brewing will close its downtown taproom at 24 E. Main Street at the end of December and combine operations at the St. Boniface taproom it owns at 1701 W. Main Street. The combined room will be called Ephrata Beer Company and will pour both brands, Chad Umble reported for LNP | LancasterOnline on October 13.
Pour Man's bought St. Boniface in 2024. Breweries in PA reports that Mug Club memberships will transfer and Pour Man's staff will move to the combined location. Regulars lose the downtown room but keep both beer lineups a short drive away.
Closings
Crosstown Brewing pours its final beers in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee. Crosstown Brewing Co. closed its taproom next to Crosstown Concourse after a final day on Saturday, October 17. Co-founder Will Goodwin confirmed the closing to Memphis Beer Blog on October 14. The brewery's annual Crosstoberfest became its farewell. WMC Action News 5 published the brewery's thank-you statement on October 15.
Crosstown opened in February 2018 and distributed beers such as Traffic IPA across Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. No reason for the closing was announced. Co-founder Clark Ortkiese died in July 2025. Whether the brands will survive in any form was not reported.
The Roadies closes again after investors walk away
Vista, California. The Roadies Brewing set Sunday, October 18, as its final day of service, weeks after reopening with promised outside investment. Owners Diane and Sean Hilz told San Diego Beer News on October 16 that their investors said at an October 15 meeting that they could not raise enough capital and withdrew. The brewery first closed in late August and reopened October 1.
This account comes from the owners, and the investors' side has not been published. The owners said they had already hired a new head brewer and rehired staff, who were set to work the taproom through the final weekend.
San Diego's tribal-owned brewery shuts down
Valley Center, California. The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians has closed Rincon Reservation Road Brewery, known as 3R, at Harrah's Resort SoCal and is leaving the beer business, Brandon Hernández reported for San Diego Beer News on October 16. Rincon Economic Development Corporation Chairwoman Shalome Briggs said the craft beer industry "has changed dramatically."
3R was San Diego County's only tribal-owned and operated brewery, and Briggs pointed to the space it created for Native American representation in craft beer. The report did not give an exact last day of brewing. The company said it will spend the coming weeks closing out business with its accounts.
Sources
- Racket, "What Craft Beer Bubble? New South Minneapolis Brewery Soft Opens This Weekend," October 16.
- Current, Ann Marie Shambaugh, "'We found a great spot': Carmel's only woman-owned brewery prepares to move a mile north," October 15.
- Brewbound, Zoe Licata, "Stone Co-Founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner to Take Over Former Escondido Location, Open Independent Restaurant," October 14.
- CalMatters via the Fresno Bee, Deborah Brennan, "This landmark California brewery was slated for closure: Instead it's returning to its roots," October 15.
- Axios Nashville, Adam Tamburin, "TailGate Brewery is taking over Yazoo's Madison production facility," October 13.
- Beer Street Journal, Reid Ramsay, "Tailgate Brewery acquires Yazoo Brewing," October 15.
- The Minnesota Star Tribune, Carson Hartzog, "Summit Brewing could avoid foreclosure with new lender," October 15.
- KSTP, Kyle Brown, "Summit will keep beer flowing as loans are transferred to new lender," October 15.
- FOX 9, Kilat Fitzgerald, "Summit Brewing Company avoids foreclosure after reaching agreement with new lender," October 17.
- New Britain Herald, Claudia S. Hilario, "Alvarium Beer files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy," October 13.
- Inc., Lucia Auerbach, "Alvarium Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Joining a Wave of Distressed Craft Breweries," October 14.
- LNP | LancasterOnline, Chad Umble, "Pour Man's Brewing to close downtown Ephrata taproom, consolidate operations into new Ephrata Beer Company," October 13.
- Breweries in PA, Matt Kozar, "Pour Man's And St. Boniface To Combine Taprooms Under 'Ephrata Beer Company'," October 13.
- Memphis Beer Blog, "Crosstown Brewing to close after 8 years in Memphis," October 14.
- WMC Action News 5, Jacob Gallant, "Crosstown Brewing closing doors," October 15.
- San Diego Beer News, Brandon Hernández, "Investors back out on brewery they vowed to save," October 16.
- San Diego Beer News, Brandon Hernández, "San Diego's tribal-owned brewery has closed," October 16.
