James Moriarty and the tale of his brewery should be a cautionary one. So many breweries start up with operators that know far less than James did. 

He brewed in multiple facilities for over a decade, went to the Siebel Institute, worked as an engineer assembling and starting up breweries and only then did he leverage that experience to open Urban Brew Labs in Chicago. 

But even that resume wasn’t enough to take his brewery into profitability. 

But James wouldn’t go down without a fight. He pivoted, struggled, brewed, raised money and restructured. Like all of us, he wanted his dream to succeed. 

But even closing his dream in August of 2022 didn’t deter James from a career helping others open their breweries. In some ways it strengthened his understanding of how the business of craft beer works. And doesn’t. Now he, like all of my guests, knows how NOT to start a Damn Brewery. 

And now here’s the story of James Moriarty and Chicago’s late Urban Brew Labs. 

Reach out to James at [email protected]
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Story about their closing

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