It was a quiet end to a Saturday night after a metal show at Moonlight Lounge, with just the surprised voices on TV of the football announcers calling the Lobos’ upset of Fresno State, when a friend in the industry sent us a screenshot of interest.

Brain Gang Trivia, which hosts events at breweries all over town, announced that its weekly Sunday event was canceled going forward, as Lava Rock Brewing was closing.

Uh, what?

We quickly reached out to Lava Rock head brewer Daniel Cavin for more information, and he confirmed that the brewery and taproom at 2220 Unser Blvd NW will be closing. The plan, however, is to move brewing operations to the long-delayed Moriarty taproom, and after that at some point in the future, hopefully open a taproom in the Northeast Heights.

The brewery’s social media pages are still without any official post, but we trust that Cavin would not have shared that information with us if it wasn’t true. It marks the end of a five-year run for the brewery on the Westside.

While some folks who responded to our Facebook post shared that they will miss the brewpub, others leveled heavy criticism for poor service, subpar food, and more. It has been an up-and-down run for Lava Rock, which has endured changes in ownership, kitchen staff, and head brewers, plus the shutdown that came with a global pandemic.

Hopefully, we will get a chance to sit down with Cavin and talk more about this big move this week or next, including any sort of timetable for the Moriarty location to open, and perhaps what will become of the space on Unser (it could be a logical landing spot for another brewery seeking a Westside taproom, with room for a secondary brewhouse, as well).

Until then, just remember to keep supporting your favorite neighborhood brewery during what is typically the slowest time of the year for business in the industry. Not all of them will have the option of moving locations if things start to get really tough financially.

— Stoutmeister