(UPDATE: MobCraft closed at 11 p.m. on Nov. 30 and a source involved with the company said on the morning of Dec. 1 that after one potential deal fell through there is no buyer for the brewery.)
MobCraft Beer, which has taprooms in Walker's Point and Woodstock, Illinois, has posted on its website that it is selling its brewery, taprooms and intellectual property.
After rumors swirled earlier this week that the first-ever crowd-sourced brewery in Milwaukee would close, CEO Henry Schwartz declined to comment when reached Tuesday.
But on Wednesday, the brewery posted this message on its website:
After 12 years in business and 9 years in the Walker’s Point neighborhood of Milwaukee, MobCraft Beer is selling its brewery, taproom and Intellectual Property. All the details aren’t known at this point, but as more comes to light they will be shared! “It’s been a wild ride these past 12 years,” said MobCraft CEO Henry Schwartz, “We’ve poured our heart and souls into the brewery and our community, but reached a point where we could no longer operate as a stand-alone organization. When the opportunity came up to sell the brewery, we decided to consider it to keep our brand around at wholesale, and keep as many of our staff members as possible employed in our taprooms. We’re in the midst of working on the deal now, and there will be changes but they are not fully known yet. The MobCraft you know and love today won’t exist in its entirety after this process, but some aspects will, and between now and our last day of official “MobCraft” Operations we aim to celebrate our existence and all we’ve achieved, over a few pints.”
MobCraft Beer is an innovator in the craft beer space as the “world’s first crowdsourced brewery” where the public could submit beer ideas and vote on what would be brewed next. The crowdsourced beers were just a portion of the brewery’s portfolio that also included popular flagship, seasonal and limited-release beers and offerings from their extensive Wild & Sour beer program.
In pure MobCraft fashion, they are transitioning with a bang late November.
Nov. 4: Craft Beer Advent Calendars go on sale at 9 a.m.
Nov. 21: Last Milwaukee Mug Club Thursday. Exclusive Mug Club party.
Nov. 23: 7th Annual Milwaukee Stout Fest.
Nov. 27: Early Black Friday Sale stock up on your MobCraft favorites.
Nov. 27: Last Woodstock Mug Club Wednesday. Exclusive Mug Club party.
Nov. 29: Black Friday! Free pint to the first 100 people through the door plus case and growler sale.
Nov. 29: Woodstock Stout Fest and Lighting of the Square
Nov. 30: Last day open to the public as MobCraft. We are going out with a huge party and you are all invited.
From vendors, distributor partners, community organizations, the city of Milwaukee and partnering businesses … we thank you a million times! MobCraft created something special and couldn’t have done it without all of you.
We would also like to thank all of the staff that contributed to MobCraft over the years. It was your visions, ideation and hard work that brought MobCraft to life.
Finally and most importantly, thank you to ALL of the customers we have served over the years. Without you we are nothing. Many of you have become so much more than customers. You are our friends and we are going to miss serving you MobCraft beers dearly. We hope we brought some joy to you over the years. We know you did for us.
So, come celebrate a farewell with us this month of November, and stay tuned for what our space will transform into over the coming weeks!
Cheers!
Henry Schwartz and the MobCraft Beer Team
Reached on Wednesday with a request for more information, Schwartz again demurred, citing a non-disclosure agreement.
MobCraft, started by Schwartz and Andrew Gierczak, opened its brewery and taproom at 505 S. 5th St. in 2016.
In September 2021, it announced it would open in three more cities, including Denver; Waterford, Wisconsin; and Woodstock, Illinois.
Only Denver and Woodstock eventually opened and Denver closed in April 2023.
This past summer MobCraft made headlines locally with its (not so) Horrible City IPA released to coincide with the Republican National Convention in response to former president Donald Trump's comment that Milwaukee was a "horrible city."
Stay tuned for more information on this as it becomes available.
In the meantime, read more about MobCraft, its numerous annual festivals and its often quirky brews in these articles.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
