Mash Tun Journal was founded in 2012 as a project by the Chicago-based non-profit, Public Media Institute, publishers of Lumpen Magazine and Proximity Magazine, and the tavern Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar.
The Mash Tun Journal is one of many projects from PMI that explores the intersections of the art and hospitality industries. It debuted as a perfectly bound journal, sold on newsstands and bookstores, and evolved into a free circulation newsprint publication distributed at better bars and brewery taprooms around the country. The publication led to the creation of beer and food festivals, and it inspired the publishers to embark on opening a brewery of their own, Marz Community Brewing Co.