USA, NY: IBU Brewery closing its doors for good

IBU Brewery owner Mike Mintier announced on August 14 on Facebook that the North Syracuse establishment will be closing its doors for good at the end of August, Syracuse.com reported.

Though they had been doing okay during the storm that is the coronavirus pandemic, growing responsibilities taking care of his family have pushed Mintier to his limit.

Both of his parents are in long term care due to health issues. With the growing costs associated with that, he returned to his job before he opened the brewery as an engineer at Lockheed Martin.

He was working 55-60 hours a week at his day job, helping to take care of his 3-year-old and one month old, and with any free time he had left, managing the brewery.

“I couldn’t keep up. I don’t consider myself a failure; I just had to step away. I had to choose between the business and my family and I chose my family. I think I can be proud of that choice,” Mintier said.

In the age of Covid-19, he said IBU was still profitable doing to-go and delivery sales. They also got a PPE loan, but it wasn’t enough to help ease the pressure of the cost of parental care.

The brewery opened in 2016, named for the “International Bitterness Unit,” a measure of the bitterness level that hops bring to beer. Located at 3703 Brewerton Rd. behind the Mr. Tire, they offered four original brews and gave customers the chance to “Brew on Premises.” Over the years they have hosted everything from outdoor movie nights to yoga classes at the tap room.

Most recently they collaborated with The Mountain Goat, one of Syracuse’s most popular races.

The brewery created a limited edition beer called “To Hill and Bock” to honor the 10-mile course which takes runners up and down some of the city’s major hills, including Woodland Reservoir and Thornden Park.

Due to Covid-19 however, the large event became a virtual one. Pre-orders for the limited edition cans had just ended as the coronavirus pandemic shut New York state down. When the orders came in, patrons flocked to the brewery to buy the extra “To Hill and Bock” cans as a souvenir for the unprecedented times that are 2020.

As of today, everything inside the brewery is on sale and Mintier invites anyone to ask about buying anything they see that isn’t nailed down. IBU will be open Friday and Saturday from 3-10 p.m. each week until the end of August.

He said opening IBU one of the most rewarding experiences of his life thus far and thanked his patrons for some of the best years. Looking ahead, there could be a new endeavor when the time is right.

“Who knows what the future holds,” Mintier said.

16 August, 2020