The taps on Seventh Street will flow until the end of business Sunday.
Then Hermitage Brewing Co. — known for its sours and single-hop beers — will close the doors on the warehouse brewery operation that’s operated since 2009 on an industrial stretch near Spartan Stadium.
“There’s no easy way to say this but Hermitage’s journey is sadly coming to an end,” read a farewell post on the San Jose brewery’s Instagram page. “We appreciate all the memories and loyal customers we’ve had in the past 13 years … but all good things must come to an end. We want to say thank you to everyone who has supported us from day one or even recently.”
Happy hour pricing will be in effect through the weekend.
“So come and have one last beer with us,” the note said.
No reason was given for the closure, and attempts to reach the managers and owners for comment were unsuccessful.
The Hermitage brewing equipment dated back to the early days of San Jose’s Tied House, where UC Davis-trained brewer Peter Licht arrived after a stint as Coast Range Brewing’s original brewer. Licht branched out, creating a number of ambitious and award-winning beers under the Hermitage label.
In those early years, Hermitage served as an incubator for other startup breweries, including Strike, Santa Clara Valley and Almanac (which grew up and moved to Alameda).
And it started the taproom surge when it opened one at its Seventh Street location in 2013.
Customers who have been frequenting that warehouse-style taproom, with its barrel tables inside and plenty of parking lot seating outside, took to social media with their reactions to the news.
A resident of San Jose’s Naglee Park neighborhood with the handle of HacksonCode posted: “Noooooooooo!!!!” — only with many more O’s and exclamation marks.
“I’m so sad. They had really good sours,” wrote Mokalina6 on a Reddit thread.
A commenter called 2rocsNaviars echoed that sentiment. “I’ll pour out my last bottle of I’m Your Huckleberry as RIP.”
Besides praise for the sours, many beer enthusiasts have raved over the years about Hermitage’s Two Tun, an imperial stout.
“The Ale of the Two Tun imperial stout, which is 9.0 percent alcohol by volume and 30 IBU (International Bitterness Units), was my favorite of the day,” said the Intoxicated Review, a beer blog owned by Jack Morin and John Kascjak, after a tasting stop. “This is a black, roasty beer with chocolate and coffee flavors. It’s balanced and flavorful, but packs an alcohol punch.”
And the Taphunter review described Two Tun as such: “Its flavor is a decadent balance of black coffee, bittersweet dark chocolate, roasted malts, a touch of molasses and a soft fruit character. A moderately full bodied beer with matching carbonation, this imperial stout has just enough alcohol to keep your cheeks warm, and a dry finish to keep you coming back for more.”
“More,” that is, until Sunday evening. The Hermitage website has already been taken down, but previously posted hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, 1 to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. The brewery is at 1627 S. Seventh St., San Jose.
Source: www.mercurynews.com