A beloved Iowa brewery ends its brewing operations after a 15-year run in central Iowa. Megan McKay, the owner of Peace Tree Brewing Co. based in Knoxville, announced that she will cease brewing operations.
“We have had a fantastic run, blazing the way in the modern craft beer movement with innovative and thoughtful brews that helped kick off a brewing revolution in Iowa,” she announced on Facebook. “Over the next few weeks, we will be wrapping up production and distribution operations.”
That means fans should head to stores or the taprooms in Knoxville and the Market District in Des Moines for Blonde Fatale, the Belgian-style blonde ale that won the Des Moines Register’s Beer Brackets in 2023, with fans voting it the best beer in Iowa.
Peace Tree’s top beers
Blonde Fatale also earned gold at the World Beer Cup in 2014 in the Belgian-Style Blonde Ale or Pale Ale category while the brewery’s Get a Little Hazy won gold in the Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale category at the Great American Beer Festival in 2021.
“It’s like getting a Michelin star, I suppose,” she said last September. “It’s just that outside confirmation that what we’re doing is good.”
McKay said that the production team “will be transitioning to roles outside of Peace Tree.”
Both taprooms will continue operations, adding guest beers to the taps as Peace Tree runs out of its own beers.
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Last September, McKay announced plans to sell the brewery, but at the time estimated it would take two years to complete a sale.
She did not indicate that the brewery sold when she announced that production would stop.
“This just feels like the most authentic thing I can do is to just say, ‘Hey, I’m ready for a change,’ and hopefully somebody will be excited about what we’ve created and want to take it forward,” McKay said in September when she announced the brewery was on the market.
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Some background on Peace Tree’s roots
McKay opened the brewery in Knoxville in September 2009 across the street from the insurance agency her family owns. The family initially bought the building filled with junk without plans for it, but McKay’s father read an article about breweries in the Wall Street Journal and the family decided to give it a go.
“We bought it with the thought that we wanted to give back to our community and figure out ways to help develop Knoxville,” McKay said last September. She thought the brewery would attract visitors to Knoxville who might want to live there someday.
When it opened, Peace Tree became Iowa’s first 100% woman-owned brewery.
The first beer, the Rambler Red Ale, earned its name from the Rambler automotive dealership once housed in the building.
“When we first opened, there weren’t a lot of breweries in Des Moines even and so people would travel to Knoxville,” McKay said. But she knew that in order to grow, she’d need a location in Des Moines.
By 2017, Peace Tree opened a taproom in a Quonset hut in the new Market District south of the East Village in Des Moines.
In addition to the two taprooms, Peace Tree has a full-scale production facility with distribution networks across Iowa and Nebraska.
Where to find Peace Tree Brewery taprooms
Knoxville Taproom
Location: 107 W. Main St., Knoxville
Contact: 641-842-2739
Des Moines Taproom
Location: 317 E. Court Ave., Des Moines
Contact: 515-883-2739
Website: peacetreebrewing.com
Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at [email protected].
Barbara Terrio is a seasoned business journalist, delving into the world of finance, startups, and entrepreneurship. With a knack for demystifying complex economic trends, she helps readers navigate the business landscape. Outside of her reporting, Barbara is an advocate for financial literacy and enjoys mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs.
