The US Breweries That Have Sadly Closed In 2025 So Far

The state of the craft beer industry at the start of 2025 was virtually unprecedented. By the end of 2024, the year's craft brewery closures had surpassed new openings for the first time in two decades. Of course, the craft beer boom, responsible for the success of beer-focused businesses like Yard House, took place entirely within that time period. So, heading into 2025, the craft beer market's sustainability came into question in a way it hadn't for decades.

On the whole, craft beer is still plenty popular. There are a fair number of craft beers you can't find on store shelves because they're so highly coveted by beer aficionados, for example. Nevertheless, brewery closures continued to impact the craft beer industry throughout 2025. The following list compiles craft brewery closures that went into effect between the start of the year and the end of September. While any independent business' closing is noteworthy, this list can't be exhaustive, so the included breweries stood out for one reason or another — that might have meant a large following, a significant number of years in business, or biographical details that otherwise made the business unique. Based on those criteria, these are the biggest brewery closures of 2025 so far.

Most West Coast craft beer aficionados, at the very least, will recognize 21st Amendment Brewery as the brewery behind the eye-catching Hell Or High Watermelon, a fruit-flavored wheat beer. Mashed named it one of 25 refreshing beers to drink in Summer 2023. For 25 years, 21st Amendment operated out of the East Bay, California city of San Leandro, but in September of 2025, the longtime Bay Area staple announced its closure.

Responsible for this decision was, simply, money. Despite the fact 21st Amendment ranked among the Brewers Association's top 50 breweries between 2016 and 2019, sales declined so severely just after this period, the brewery experienced a 20% drop in business since 2021. As a result, the brewery's main source of financial backing decided that it would no longer provide funding. With no financial alternatives, 21st Amendment announced that it would ramp down production with its final date of operation planned for November 4.

Even with a few months remaining in the year at the time of this article's writing, it's hard to imagine there will be a bigger closure in terms of sheer footprint than that of Iron Hill Brewery. Akin to brewpub chain BJ's Brewhouse, Iron Hill operated a chain of casual sit-down restaurants that served standard American pub fare, complemented by a selection of beers brewed in-house. The Iron Hill chain in its entirety — consisting of 16 locations across Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Delaware, New Jersey, and Georgia — announced that it was shutting down on September 25, 2025.

The first Iron Hill Brewery was located not in Pennsylvania, where the chain ultimately opened 10 of its 16 locations, but nearby Newark, New Jersey. Iron Hill remained in business for almost 29 years. As is typically the case, the company identified financial challenges as the reason for its closure. Rather than on a scheduled end date, every single Iron Hill brewpub closed down immediately as of the September 25 announcement.

The first Trve Brewing location opened in 2011, in Denver, Colorado. Anyone who remembers the black metal genre's internet popularity around that time will recognize the heavy music influence behind the name Trve Brewing. Not only were its canned beers decked out with labels reminiscent of extreme metal album covers, but the brewery regularly hosted or sponsored metal shows — its 13th anniversary event, for example, was headlined by Pacific Northwest black metal innovator Wolves in the Throne Room.

Trve Brewing may well have expanded at an inopportune time. While it opened a second location in Asheville, North Carolina in March of 2024, the company announced its closure just over a year later, on July 7, 2025. Both locations closed only days after the announcement, on July 12. According to founder Nick Nunns, the brewery had simply run its course, and had to shut down due to a confluence of factors.

In another simultaneous hit to Colorado's beer and music scenes, Over Yonder Brewing announced its closure on July 10, 2025. While Over Yonder was only around for six years at the time of this announcement — newer than a fair number of breweries that also closed in 2025 — it had built up some notoriety during that time for its proximity to Colorado's iconic Red Rocks Amphitheater.

During its tenure in Golden, Colorado, Over Yonder Brewing wasn't just a place to enjoy a beer before a Red Rocks show, but it operated as a space for live music itself. When Southern rock jam band Widespread Panic played Red Rocks, for example, Over Yonder hosted a weekend full of events, including a couple of shows by local Colorado bands. Over Yonder's closure was the result of its operations becoming unsustainable, suggesting that unfortunate financial struggles drove the brewery to this decision. Its final day in business was July 20.

Around the same time Over Yonder Brewing was founded in 2019, George Johnson opened Assembly Brewing in Portland, Oregon. While he didn't know it at the time, this made Johnson the proprietor of Oregon's first Black-owned brewery. Johnson made his way to Portland from Detroit, and he injected plenty of Detroit flavor into his business. Key to the brewery's popularity during its time in operation, notably, was a menu of authentic Detroit-style pizzas.

On May 6, Assembly Brewery announced it would be ceasing operations just days later, on May 11. That said, a spinoff Assembly Brewing Pizza Annex had opened in a nearby neighborhood in February of 2024. Whereas the original brewery only welcomed customers 21 and over, the Annex catered to clientele of all ages. The Annex actually remained in business through the original brewery's closure, but it ultimately shut down in September. It was financial struggles that led to Assembly Brewing's decision to cease operations.

The period from 2006 to 2023, when craft brewery openings outpaced closings, could be considered the prolonged peak of the craft beer boom. Naturally, however, some craft breweries predated this era, including Boundary Bay Brewery in Bellingham, Washington. When the brewery announced its closure in September of 2025, it had operated for a grand total of 30 years.

Boundary Bay Brewery's decision to cease operations was a sort of two-step process. First, in 2024, its building's proprietor sold to a new owner. This presumably put some new degree of financial strain on the brewery's founders, because they decided to retire the following year. Its final day of operation was September 30. While Boundary Bay Brewery may be closed, fans of its beers can still get their hands on a few of its classic recipes — the brand decided to contract Black Raven Brewing, in the Seattle suburb of Woodinville, to produce some of its beers for a time, even after closing.

Thimble Island Brewing Company first opened in the town of Branford, Connecticut in 2010. Its nautical-themed ales were canned and available at stores, while visitors to the Branford facility could enjoy a full restaurant menu, including a take on Outback Steakhouse's must-try Bloomin' Onion appetizer. This pillar of the Branford community announced in May of 2025 that it would be ceasing operations after a couple final weeks in business.

Brewery CEO Justin Gargano outlined a few contributing factors when he announced his decision to shut Thimble Island Brewing Company down. First and foremost, of course, were financial difficulties. In this particular case, those were compounded by a so-called strategic partnership gone wrong. Its impact on the brewery's well-being, he revealed, was significant. Furthermore, Gargano also alluded to issues with his health leading him to reassess his career. Thimble Island Brewing Company's final day of business was May 24.

In 2010, the same year Thimble Island Brewing Company first opened its doors, Austin, Texas became home to Black Star Co-Op Pub & Brewery. Black Star proudly declared that it was the world's very first brewery to operate as a co-op, meaning it was owned and operated by a team of membership-holders. While a membership was not required to visit, its members-owners did typically double as patrons.

Black Star Co-Op Pub & Brewery announced its closure in January of 2025, with its final day in operation landing on January 12. The co-op left the precise reasons for its shutdown vague, but alluded to challenges uniquely applicable to running a community-owned and democratically-managed business. Austin experienced considerable economic growth in 2025, which doubtlessly created some competition that wasn't there before. Whatever the case may have been, financial difficulties hit a fair number of breweries hard in 2025, and Black Star Co-Op Pub & Brewery was seemingly among them.

By the time Jekyll Brewing announced its closure in May of 2025, the business had grown to five locations in both George and Florida. In the former state, it operated two in Alpharetta, one in Woodstock, and one in Gainesville. Its Florida location, meanwhile, was in Jacksonville Beach. All five facilities shut down at once on May 11, which happened to be Mother's Day.

Unsurprisingly, financial woes were responsible for Jekyll Brewing's closure. However, those financial struggles affected not just the business' ownership but its employees too, when the date of what would have been a final payday passed without its former employees receiving their final paycheck. The former Jekyll Brewing CEO stated that issuing those final payments would take time, in light of the company's recent shutdown. With no reporting in the wake of the payment issue coming to light, its resolution is unclear. Whatever the case may be, Jekyll Brewing's final days were marred by employees in both Georgia and Florida who felt wronged.

For the 12 years it operated out of Mankato, Minnesota, Mankato Brewery built up a reputation for crafting left-field ales. A Popcorn Ale produced in collaboration with the Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP Popcorn brand, for example, added a popcorn flavor to a Belgian farmhouse ale base — a combination that turned out to be a hit with beer drinkers in Minnesota. Other experiments included a cinnamon limoncello cake-flavored beer, and a rhubarb-flavored shandy, among others.

Mankato Brewery announced that it would be closing at the start of the following year in December of 2024. By that point, it had become one of Minnesota's largest independent breweries. Mankato Brewery was initially put up for sale in August of 2024, but unable to find a buyer, its owner made the difficult decision to shut it down. Rather than announce a hard end date, the brewery committed to remaining in operation either through the end of January, or until its stock of beer and merchandise ran out. January 31 ended up being its final day in operation.

Wild Mind Ales operated in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a unique business model that set it apart from most other independent craft breweries. While the brewery proper opened in the afternoon on weekends or early evening on weekdays, in the mornings it doubled as Wild Grind coffee. While this innovative approach to all-day beverage service surely allowed for more regular business, it just wasn't enough to keep Wild Mind Ales afloat.

After nine years of serving Twin Cities beer aficionados, Wild Mind announced its closure in July of 2025. Wild Grind coffee, which had opened about halfway into that nine-year tenure, was part of the shutdown too. There was no detailed reason provided behind the decision other than a failed attempt to sell the business. At the time of the announcement, Wild Mind had no set end date, opting instead to keep the ship afloat for as long as possible. That loose plan lasted for a couple of months, before Wild Mind and Wild Grind both closed on September 28.

In 2013, Graham Burns, his wife Mary Ann, his son Chris, and Chris' wife Kristin decided to start a family business together. They opened Old Ox Brewery to the public in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Ashburn, Virginia the following year. After more than a decade in operation, the Old Ox Brewery announced its closure in March of 2025.

The first domino to fall in the lead-up to this decision was Graham and Mary Ann's joint decision to retire. Then, rather than take over as sole owners, Chris and Kristin decided to pursue opportunities outside of the beer industry. The Burns family had hoped to find an outside buyer, and ultimately landed a tentative agreement with a new owner. They found out, however, that the brewery space's landlord had just secured a new tenant days prior, so the purchase fell through. Old Ox Brewery's last day in operation was April 5.

Wellspent Brewing Company opened its doors to the St. Louis, Missouri public in 2018. The brewery built up a reputation among beer aficionados thanks in part to its creativity. That meant flavored ales, barrel-aged experiments, and even creative food offerings, like cheesecake potstickers and artisanal dog treats. Also key to its identity was its location — its building used to house the Bonanza Theatre in St. Louis' historic midtown neighborhood. The brewery announced plans to shut its doors in June of 2025.

Business struggles first affected Wellspent Brewing Company the year after it opened. Founder Kyle Kohlmorgen ended up transitioning ownership to Eben Shantz, and together they kept the business afloat, including through the pandemic. Jumping ahead to 2025, Shantz found running a business as a sole proprietor difficult, and had trouble scaling up the brewery. Initially, Wellspent searched for a buyer, but with no deal in place, the brewery closed for good on June 29.