Fans of the big, indoor-outdoor Pyramid Alehouse brewpub in deepest Berkeley will be sad this week to learn that the place has abruptly shut down. As the East Bay Express reports, the brewery and restaurant had an outgoing message today thanking people for their patronage, and subsequently a message was posted to Facebook confirming the closure. It says, in addition to thanking patrons, "We want to thank our employees for their dedicated service." The place has been in business in Berkeley since 1997, long before the craft-beer revolution got into full swing, a decade before anyone here had heard of a sour beer, and pre-dating the East Bay's current glut of beer gardens by 15 years.

The company which began as Hart Brewing in Seattle in 1984 expanded and became Pyramid Breweries in the '90s, named after their flagship Pyramid Ales. As beer connoisseurship exploded, generally, across the company, Pyramid only got bigger, and was ultimately acquired in 2010 — along with northeast craft brand Magic Hat — by North American Breweries, Inc, the company that owns Labatts as well as some other imports.

North American Breweries issued a statement today saying the closure of the Berkeley alehouse reflects the company's desire "to focus our West Coast production in our Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington locations." It remains to be seen if that spells doom for Pyramid Alehouse in Walnut Creek, too, but that location remains open.