293 The Wildest Story In Beer

293 The Wildest Story In Beer

From Beer In Front by Dave Zalatoris

March 3, 2026 · 25 min · Season 8 · Episode 293

About this episode

This episode covers recent brewery closures in Illinois, notable beer news, and a deep dive into the history of Ballast Point.

🍺 New Episode – Beer in Front 🎙️ Quick solo show this week (yes, I sound a little congested 😅), but we’ve got a LOT to cover. 🚨 Chicagoland Closures We’re up to six brewery closures in two months. It’s a tough stretch for Illinois craft beer. If you’ve got a favorite spot — now’s the time to support them. 🌎 Beer News BrewDog sold to Tilray for $40M (once valued near $2B 😳) Pickle beer collab: Grillo’s x PBR Firestone Walker dropping a dragon fruit sour Revolution expanding the Cold Time lineup 🐟 Deep Dive: Ballast Point From a homebrew shop… To a $1 BILLION sale… To being sold for a fraction of that… To fighting its way back to independent roots. One of the craziest stories in craft beer history. And yes — we revisited Sculpin IPA 🍊 Still bitter. Still balanced. Still holds up. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beer-in-front--5704447/support . Beer Media Group

Topics covered

  • brewery closures
  • beer news
  • Ballast Point
  • craft beer history

Keywords

  • Chicagoland
  • BrewDog
  • Tilray
  • pickle beer
  • Firestone Walker
  • Revolution
  • Sculpin IPA

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Cold Time, Sculpin IPA, BrewDog, Grillo’s, PBR, Firestone Walker, Revolution, Ballast Point

Books & works: Beer in Front

Places: Chicagoland, Illinois

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