Prohibition Brewery Closes, Rogue Ales Bids Climb and Sam Adams Sells Out of Inflatable Beer Halls in "Blow-Up Beerfest"

Prohibition Brewery in Vista is closing after nearly 15 years, Garage Beer jumps into the bidding for Rogue Ales, and Sam Adams sells out of a $199 inflatable Oktoberfest beer hall. The new Craft Beer Republic episode, "Blow-Up Beerfest," also gets into Malibu Brewing's new location, a $5 German pilsner from Aldi, and an alcohol safety class that went about as well as you'd expect.

Prohibition Brewery in Vista Is Closing

Prohibition Brewery in Vista, California, is closing after almost 15 years. The family behind the brewery is retiring, and a for sale sign is already up in the window.

Brandon Hernandez of San Diego Beer News pointed to lower interest in craft beer and the high cost of doing business in California. Greg and Flex have long expected the craft beer bubble to burst, and they wonder whether the Covid years delayed it. Flex remembers Eagle Park Brewing's drive-through beer pickup tents, a reminder of how hard people leaned into supporting local breweries back then.

Garage Beer Bids on Rogue Ales and Its Pac-Man Yeast

The bidding for Rogue Ales intellectual property, including its proprietary Pac-Man yeast, picked up when Garage Beer placed the largest upset bid at $500,000. That topped the initial offer from UK digital marketing agency Silver Scope Media and set up a Zoom auction with $10,000 minimum increments.

Garage Beer's largest investors are Jason and Travis Kelce. Greg and Flex can't believe someone would bid half a million dollars for a brand with no brewery attached.

Sam Adams Sells Out of Inflatable Oktoberfest Beer Halls

Boston Beer sold out of its 10-foot by 13-foot Sam Adams inflatable beer halls at $199 each, and is running a sweepstakes for a 15-foot by 20-foot version with an inflatable bar counter and furniture.

Greg is ready to replace his Halloween decorations with one, lederhosen and stein included, and hand out candy from the front yard beer hall. Flex remembers a house that sent trick-or-treaters to a backyard bar shed, which sounds like the blueprint.

Malibu Brewing's New Location and Some Beer Mimosa Science

Malibu Brewing finally opened its second location, about 15 minutes from Greg, and he has already been twice in under two weeks. The new spot serves weekend brunch, which gave Greg an idea: swap the orange juice in a mimosa for a juicy hazy IPA.

Flex turns that into homework, assigning Greg and Intern Brian some beer-and-champagne research for next week. Greg also shares the permit saga behind the opening, where an inspector required a permit to put the same brewing equipment right back where it was.

A $5 German Pilsner From Aldi

Madison Brian calls in from a work trip with a surprisingly respectable imported German pilsner he found at Aldi, at $5 for four 16.9-ounce cans. That sets off a round of lime beer memories, including a San Diego brewery that added real lime to a beer for a taco shop and the Bud Light Lime days.

Drunk at Alcohol Safety Class

A 41-year-old woman in Gillette, Wyoming, was arrested for DUI after allegedly showing up drunk to a TIPS alcohol safety class. Greg remembers when a girlfriend took a similar class and learned that carbonation speeds up alcohol absorption, which 21-year-old Greg mainly used to get drunk faster.

Beers We're Drinking

Flex: Modist Brewing Ghost Vision

Flex is drinking Ghost Vision from Modist Brewing, a 6% double dry hopped hazy IPA with Citra and Dolcetto hops. It drinks light, with candied mango and a super dry finish, and Flex thinks its Untappd score sells it short.

Greg: Enegren Brewing Oktoberfest

Greg is drinking Enegren Brewing's Oktoberfest, a 5.5% Bavarian-style lager that's clean, light, and dry enough to keep him going back for more.

Listen to Craft Beer Republic: Blow-Up Beerfest

"Blow-Up Beerfest" is available now from Craft Beer Republic, with Greg and Flex covering craft beer news, Prohibition Brewery, Rogue Ales, Garage Beer, Malibu Brewing, Modist Brewing, Enegren Brewing and one very tempting inflatable beer hall. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app!