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Backpocket, Peace Tree breweries plan relocation to SingleSpeed in Waterloo
Oct. 16, 2025 6:30 am
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WATERLOO — A portion of Eastern Iowa’s brewing scene will soon become a one-stop destination thanks to a new consolidation.
Starting early next year, Iowa beer brands Backpocket Brewing and Peace Tree Brewing will move in with SingleSpeed Brewing Co., another popular craft beer anchor in northeastern Iowa.
The unification of three award-winning breweries under one roof will create a combined operation and taproom dubbed “The Brewery at WonderBread” — a move described as an advantage for production, collaboration and “a vibrant taproom experience.”
“This is a win for Waterloo, for Iowa craft beer, and for every fan who has supported our breweries along the way,” said Dave Morgan, founder of SingleSpeed. “By bringing these teams together at our WonderBread facility, we’re building a destination that showcases the best of Iowa beer and sets the stage for future innovation.”
A new development agreement for the site at 325 Commercial Street, approved by Waterloo City Council on Oct. 6, includes a $750,000 grant and five years of tax rebates for improvements to the location, which operates under the corporate legal name “Bread to Beer LLC.”
As part of the move, SingleSpeed will acquire Backpocket Brewing’s intellectual property and integrate its team to continue growing the Backpocket brand. Backpocket notified fans via an email newsletter that its Coralville taproom, 903 Quarry Rd., will “eventually” be closing as the move happens in 2026.
“This collaboration ensures our brands and Iowa’s craft beer tradition will not only endure, but thrive,” Backpocket and Peace Tree owner Aaron Vargas said in a statement.
Backpocket acquired Peace Tree Brewing in November 2024, several months after it closed. The agreement ensured that one of Peace Tree’s most iconic beers, the award-winning Blonde Fatale, would remain in Iowa’s craft beer scene.
Peace Tree Brewing ended its Knoxville operations after 15 years in business.
Many breweries across Eastern Iowa have seen a steady decline in taproom sales this year as consumer habits have failed to return to pre-pandemic norms. Iowa beer sales dropped 3.2 percent in 2023, compared to 5.1 percent nationwide. Beer consumption across the country that year fell to its lowest level since the 1970s, according to the Brewers Association, a national trade group for craft brewers.
“We have not seen consumers’ social behavior return to pre-pandemic (patterns),” Noreen Otto, executive director of the Iowa Brewers Guild, told The Gazette in February. “We see less people leaving their home and coming out and socializing. We’re just not seeing the same level of sales, and our brewers who depend on taproom sales are seeing the effects.”
Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
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