Last Full-Sized Illinois Brewery to Close by Fall
Stag Brewery, the last remaining full-sized brewery in Illinois and one of the oldest in the Midwest, will close by fall, putting more than 200 people out of work, officials said.
An official of G. Heileman Brewing Co., which owns Stag, said Monday that the plant was closing because of “certain financial and operational considerations.”
The brewery dates back to the 1850s.
“This decision to end operations here is difficult in view of the cooperation and support extended to us by the employees, the labor unions, Mayor (Richard) Brauer’s administration and the community,” said Charles Nicks, administrative manager at Heileman.
While company officials refused to discuss specific reasons, one observer linked it to the location of Heileman’s other Midwestern breweries, the age of the plant and an enormous excess capacity.
Robert F. Weinberg, an industry research specialist in St. Louis, said Heileman used only 64% of the capacity of its plants last year.
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