USA, MA: Paper City Brewing ceases production and closes its doors, possibly for good

Paper City Brewery at 108 Cabot St., Holyoke has ceased brewing in a stoppage that could be temporary as the owner said on April 28 he is seeking investors, MassLive.com reported.

"We are not in production at the moment, my brother has retired from the business and I'm looking for other investors to redevelop the brewery and property," said an email from co-owner Jay Hebert in response to questions from The Republican.

Hebert added in an email later, "Stopped at the end of 2016. I'm hoping something will resume this year."

Hebert was unavailable for further comment.

Earlier on April 28, a city official said the brewery had closed and the owner was selling the building.

"It's my understanding that they're closing and selling the building. They must have been in tight financial constraints for a while, they've accumulated quite a large tax debt," said Marcos A. Marrero, director of the city Department of Planning and Economic Development.

Marrero confirmed talk spreading in the micro-brew community about Paper City Brewery such as this post by Mass. Brew Bros. dated Wednesday:

"One of the Bay State's oldest breweries, Holyoke's Paper City Brewing, has ceased production and closed its doors, possibly for good. No word yet on when, or even if the longtime brewer, which debuted back in 1996, plans to re-open. Co-owner Jon Hebert is reportedly ready to retire after some 20-plus years in the brewing business and has had the historic 5-story building which houses the brewery on the market for a year now. Built in 1890, and also home to the once prominent Winter Palace Theater, the building at 108 Cabot Street hasn't yet attracted any takers."

Since the mid-1990's, Paper City Brewery Paper has operated out of one of the Paper City's fabled former mill buildings, making as of 2014 about 15 kinds of beer. Beers with names such as Paper City Pilsner, Grimm Double Negative, Ireland Parish, Dam Ale and Fogbuster Coffee House Ale were brewered at the five-story, red-brick structure built in 1890 and overlooking the canals.

"Our first beer came out in November 1996," Jay Hebert said in an April 2014 interview.

Signs of trouble for Paper City Brewery had surfaced. The exact amount of taxes owed at 108 Cabot St. as of close of business Friday was unavailable from the city treasurer's office. But Pioneer Valley Trucking Inc., the owner of 108 Cabot St., was listed as one of the top tax delinquents in the city in September in a list issued by the city treasurer's office, owing $240,096 and marked as "awaiting foreclosure." But an updated list in January from the office of Treasurer Sandra A. Smith appears to show that the amount owed by Pioneer Valley Trucking had dropped to $4,342.

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