Enlightened Brewing will close in January after nearly 11 years in business.
Tommy Vandervort and James Larson opened Enlightened in 2013 in the Lincoln Warehouse, moving once within that building and later to its current location in the Louis Allis building, 2020 S. Allis St. in Bay View, in 2019. The latter spot featured a 3,000-square-foot taproom with tons of natural light and an expanded brewing space.
In social media posts Friday afternoon, Larson and Vandervort thanked the staff and customers who “filled our lives with passion, creativity, lots of love, and a deep sense of community.”
“We’re so happy and honored to be a part of this neighborhood and this city and although the brick and mortar won’t be ours anymore, the spirit of collaboration, friendliness, fun and community will always live on,” they wrote. “Thank you for trusting us with your night out, your parties, your time, and everything else you’ve shared with us over the years.”
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Enlightened traded mostly in simple, well-crafted versions of classic beer styles like Kettle Logic amber ale, Prototypical Porter and its best-selling Cream City Brix cream ale. Vandervort and Larson strategically kept their beer offerings relatively few, eschewing two major trends in the industry: wide, fast-changing variety and a heavy emphasis on IPAs. (Although Enlightened does have a quite good IPA called The Imperative.)
Enlightened will become the third Milwaukee craft brewery to close in about seven months. It will leave 24 craft breweries in the city limits. Company Brewing abruptly closed in late May, and MobCraft Beer closed its doors for good last weekend. Molson Coors announced last month that it was closing its Tenth Street Brewery on the edge of Downtown.
MobCraft co-founder Henry Schwartz told Milwaukee Magazine he’s still in talks with three potential buyers for MobCraft’s Walker’s Point brewery but had “nothing inked yet.”
January and February are particularly difficult months for breweries as well as restaurants and bars as weather and limited disposable income keep many would-be customers at home.
The last day of service at Enlightened will be Jan. 5.
