Kalona Brewing Company will close at the end of the month. The craft brewery and restaurant located in downtown Kalona will serve its final beers on Oct. 31.
“Unfortunately, we have been unable to recover financially from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” owners Ted and Becky Nagy said in a post on the brewery’s Facebook page. “We are currently exploring other business opportunities including the possibility of KBC reopening with new partners and remain hopeful to find a better fit in the future.”
Kalona Brewing first opened its door in 2012, a collaboration between the Nagys and their long-time friend Lew Brewer, the brewery’s founding brewmaster. (At this point, it’s probably worth mentioning that “Brewer” is his actual surname.)
Brewer first became interested in brewing when he was living in Seattle in the 1980s, as the microbrewery movement was getting started. His interest led him to working part-time at a couple of the standout breweries, Redhook Brewery and Hale’s Ales, where he learned how to make craft beer. After moving to Iowa in the mid-90s, he worked for a while at Fitzpatrick’s Brew Pub, before returning to his regular career as a painting contractor.
Years later, Brewer and Ted Nagy started talking about going into business together.
“Actually, we originally thought of opening a winery,” Brewer told Edible Iowa River Valley in 2014, “but we decided it was just too difficult to produce high-quality wines in Iowa. I just thought the time was right to open a brewery.”
The Kalona Brewing taproom boasts 21 taps and a kitchen making use of seasonal, local-sourced ingredients for its wood-fire pizzas, soups, burgers and other items.
The brewery became known for its variety of beers, such as Kalona Classic (a lager brewed with just malt, instead of a combination of malt and corn like most American lagers) and Sucha Mucha, a pale ale. Its Lewbricator, a German-style doppelbock, was awarded a medal at the 2019 Best of Craft Beer Awards.
“Once inside the restaurant, it’s easy to forget that you’re in a small town,” Iowa Ingredient, Iowa PBS’s food show, said in a 2016 profile of Kalona Brewing. “With the feel of a big city brewery and the friendliness of a small town cafe, rural meets urban very nicely here.”
Although there had been a lot of turnover in the staff at Kalona Brewing in recent years, talking with the people there “in the dining room or next to the giant stainless steel brewing tanks always felt like hanging out with friends,” Cheryl Allen wrote in the Kalona News, after the closing was announced.
“We are grateful for the support from the community and our wonderful staff over the years,” the Nagys wrote in their post.
“We will continue to offer our beers until we close, and we’d love to see as many of you as possible before we say goodbye,” the post concludes.
“Thank you for being part of our journey. Your support has meant the world to us, and it is something we will always cherish.”
