DeGroens??

[chazwicke]

I have heard rumors that Degroens in Baltimore may be going under. Anyone know anything about this?

[newportstorm]

False. Things were heading downhill but seem to be stabilized now. Here's a discussion on it from BA:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/forum/read.php?thread=337110

Cheers!

[chazwicke]

Thanks! I had heard rumors earlier and then heard they were not true. But VERY recently the rumors have sprung up again. Possibly more of the staff have left.

[guzzler67]

Degroens has had to dodge a lot of bullets recently. Distribution problems for one. Also, sales have slowed at the brewpub because of some things that are beyond their control, such as construction in the immediate area that has closed or rerouted roads, limited the parking, etc. They have reacted as many businesses would: staff cuts, menus changes, release date changes and such.

As a regular (and faithful) customer, I have been told that there are NO plans to close. The obstacles will be surmounted and a stronger Degroens will emerge.

Right now, I'm counting the days until the weisenbock is released, and then the doppelbock, and then the rauchbock,....

[chazwicke]

Keep us posted and let us know when the Rauch comes out. Thanks!!

[chazwicke]

I just received an email about this. Here it is:

I have part of my Baltimore column in the upcoming Mid-Atlantic Brewing News
dedicated to this question.

Long and short of it: They're denying all the rumors of
closure/sale/whatever, but they ARE having problems, fueled in no small part
by the heavy road construction in the area robbing them of a substantial
amount of access and parking spaces (I had to fight 20 minutes to find a
legal space for the article interview, and that was during a weekday
afternoon). And yes, they lost the good manager and the brewer, and Theo IS
jetting back in to do the brewing in the meantime.

On the other hand, some yeast problems they had last year have apparently
been fixed, so the beer is back on track, flavor-wise.

More in Oct-Nov. MABN, soon at a brew outlet near you.

I just tell everyone to go there and have a beer. At best, they could use
your business to help tide them through the construction. At worst, if
they're fiddling while Rome is burning, you *could* be having your last
visit to an excellent Baltimore brewing landmark. (But I hope not.)

Now to put on a kilt and head to DuClaw for some Twisted
Kilt.................

Alexander D. Mitchell IV
Baltimore columnist, Mid-Atlantic Brewing News

[guzzler67]

There is an article in the Baltimore Sun on 9/29/04 in the Taste section. It is a sidebar to the Oktoberfest article, but unfortunately, I could not find a link.

To paraphrase: Theo DeGroen acknowledges a dropoff in production but that it will be temporary. He has been splitting time between Baltimore and a brewery in Pirmasens Germany but that commitment ends on Jan 1, after which he plans to return to Baltimore.

DeGroen said: "I ask fans of my beer to be patient. We will be getting it back together".

[chazwicke]

I hope he indeed does. Losing his beers would be a big loss to our area. He was one of the early pioneers.

[chazwicke]

Here is an article from the Baltimore Sun:

http://www.abs.net/~malthops/sidebar.pdf

[guzzler67]

Thanks for posting the sidebar, Chaz. I was just there this evening enjoying a smooth, but powerful (8% this year!) weisenbock.