Tag: brewery closures

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Lost Forever?

Los Angeles has had a bit of brewery loss at the end of 2022. But does a brewery closure mean a good beer is gone? Should it be?

Of course L.A. is not the only one lamenting brewery closures but I would really like to see beers from Indie, King Harbor, Strand and Mumford back for at least a limited time on draft. Perhaps if these brewers end up in another local brewery, they can add it into the brew schedule as an homage.

Or, on a grander scale, would it be possible for a beer festival to have an “in memoriam” booth where you can taste beers that are no longer in production.

If Stone Brewing can bring back beers based on customer voting, I don’t see why a beer recipe can’t just be brewed anew.

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Closing South and North


Two breweries to the south and north of L.A. have called it quits. The combination of slowed growth with increasing competition is probably the wellspring of trouble for both Valiant of Orange County and Speakeasy from the Bay Area and it might foretell further closures ahead (or not).

Valiant seemed to fall due to specific business model choices whereas Speakeasy just fell behind the zeitgeist. Both though, I believe were OK as long as the nationwide sales numbers were growing in double digits. When that trended downward, the music stopped and the pair found themselves without a chair. And if more chairs are removed, more might call it quits.

We must remember though, that this all new territory for craft beer. The U.S. has never had this many breweries before. California, alone, has more than 800! Even foreigners like Guinness, BrewDog and Mikkeller have facilities or plans for them stateside. The Global beer sellers have gobbled up breweries across the nation and are loss leader spending like crazy. A brewery starting in 2015 versus one starting today would face radically different business climates.

My guess is that there is more turbulence ahead. Which makes your beer dollar a very potent vote, use it.