Mashing-In News: Dirtbag Ball, Lagunitas Chicago Auction
GOOD MORNING, SOUTH PUGET SOUND!
Monday, Oct. 27, 2025 — John Cleese turns 86 today!
Today’s craft beer news swings from the irreverent to the introspective — Halloween dirtbags and auction blocks, imperial ciders and lost IPAs, yeast science and Polish pub crawls.
10 Barrel Brewing Brings Back the Infamous Dirtbag Ball for Halloween 2025
10 Barrel Brewing’s legendary Dirtbag Ball returns to Bend this Halloween, taking over the Domino Room on October 31 with live music from Thoughtbox and Captn Over, cheap eats, mountains of Pub Beer, and a “dress your absolute worst” mandate for a night of gloriously grimy revelry. (Brewpublic)
Portland Cider Launches Blood Orange Pomegranate, Makes Huckleberry Lemonade Year-Round
Portland Cider Company ushers in fall with Blood Orange Pomegranate, a bold new imperial cider kicking off a rotating seasonal series, while fan-favorite Huckleberry Lemonade graduates to year-round status—solidifying the cidery’s fruit-forward dominance across the Pacific Northwest. (The Brew Site)
Lagunitas Chicago Brewery Equipment Heads to Auction Block
Lagunitas Brewing’s massive 600,000-barrel Chicago production facility is being dismantled and auctioned off—complete with brewhouse, 30,000-gallon tanks, bottling line, silos, and more—marking a striking symbolic downsizing for one of craft beer’s former giants and a potential windfall for breweries looking to scale up or salvage equipment. (Bid Spotter)
The IPA Era Is Over: Beer Gets “Dumb” Again
As craft beer’s golden age fades, American beer culture is “getting dumb again” — with consumers trading double IPAs for Michelob Ultra and Garage Beer, marketing turning bland after the Bud Light backlash, and brewers simplifying both recipes and branding to court budget-conscious, health-minded drinkers nostalgic for the no-frills lagers of their dads’ garages. (Business Insider)
11 Underrated East Coast Breweries You Need to Know, According to Brewers
Even amid industry contraction, East Coast brewing creativity thrives — with working brewers naming a new wave of underrated standouts from Maine to Maryland, including Fox Farm, Wayward Lane, Wild East, Idle Hands, Oxbow, Love City, and others quietly redefining balance, locality, and craftsmanship beyond hype and haze. (VinePair)
Refining the Craft: How Pressure Fermentation and Mixed Cultures Are Shaping Beer’s Future
Across the craft beer world, brewers are refining—not reinventing—the craft through techniques like pressure fermentation, spunding, and mixed culture programs, blending science and artistry to boost efficiency, sustainability, and flavor while redefining what tradition can mean in modern brewing. (Brewer Magazine)
Drinking Warsaw: Inside Poland’s Playful, Evolving Craft Beer Capital
In a whirlwind beer tour through Warsaw, writer and EBCU delegate explores Poland’s capital craft scene—from PINTA’s clove-bomb pumpkin ale and grodziskie experiments to Browar Warszawski’s balanced lagers and The Taps’ milkshake IPA revelation—discovering a city where playful early-craft energy, technical precision, and tradition all coexist in one endlessly drinkable beer culture. (The Beer Nut)
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
