Smuttlabs Brewery and Kitchen – the Dover, New Hampshire-based offshoot location of Smuttynose Brewery – has closed, the Hampton-headquartered brewery announced.
“To the Dover community, our loyal customers, and to anyone who has enjoyed our love for experimental brews, scratch menus, and dad jokes…we have made the extremely difficult decision to close our Smuttlabs Brewery & Kitchen location in Dover, NH,” the company wrote. “We’d like to thank the Smuttlabs team for their continued hard work and dedication and in no way is this a reflection on their amazing talents.”
Smuttlabs Brewery and Kitchen opened in 2019 in the location of the former 7th Settlement Brewery, which closed in 2018 after five years. It served as a physical home for the Smuttlabs brand, which served as Smuttynose’s R&D line.
“Opening Smuttlabs in November 2019 was a highlight for the Smuttynose family, showcasing experimental craft beers and a unique twist on tavern fare in beautiful downtown Dover,” Smuttynose wrote. “But, with the onset of COVID shortly after opening, fluctuations in the labor market, and rising costs, we’ve been unable to regain the momentum we saw previously.”
All Smuttlabs employees will be offered employment at Smuttynose’s main campus, 21 miles south.
“Their talents will be put to great use as our company continues to grow with both brewery production and hospitality endeavors,” Smuttynose wrote. “Thank you to those who’ve created memories with us at Smuttlabs these last few years. We hope you’ll join us in making many more over at our Hampton campus.”
Last year, Smuttynose increased its production +5%, to 22,000 barrels, according to the May/June issue of the Brewers Association’s (BA) New Brewer.
Pennsylvania’s Newfangled Brew Works to Shutter August 14
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based Newfangled Brew Works will shut its doors Sunday, August 14 after nearly four years in business.
Co-owner and head brewer Adam Cole told Breweries in Pennsylvania decreased business due to the pandemic and rising costs drove the decision to close.
Last year, Newfangled produced 625 barrels of beer, according to the BA.
North Carolina’s District 8 Beer Company to Close August 13
Belmont, North Carolina-based District 8 Beer Company announced it will close for good after the end of business on Saturday, August 13.
“Saturday August 13th is the last day District 8 Beer Company will be open,” District 8 wrote on Facebook. “No, we’re not moving. No we’re not relaunching. No this isn’t some big joke. We appreciate you all.”
District 8 opened in 2017 as a bottle shop and taproom, selling craft beer from across the country, wine, bourbon and other spirits. In late 2020, the business expanded to create the South Fork Brew Project, a one-barrel craft brewery. South Fork will also close, the company confirmed on social media.
Oregon’s West Coast Grocery Brewing Closing
Portland-based West Coast Grocery Brewing will close August 31 after four years in business, according to Oregon Live.
Co-owner Charlie Hyde IV pinned the impending closing on the brewery’s inability to garner community support after a workplace sexual harassment incident went public months after it opened in 2018, years before the craft beer industry’s reckoning with its treatment of women in its ranks last summer. The target of the harassment, a former server, shared the email she received explaining that the harasser, the former head brewer, would be suspended for one week, rather than terminated, which he eventually was.
“There’s not a moment ever where I don’t look back (and think), why did you write the email that way? Why did you phrase it that way?” Hyde told Oregon Live, adding the situation “didn’t warrant a blanket HR email, ‘Hey, we’re suspending this guy.’ I rambled on. You read the email and it’s like, ‘Hey we’re suspending him.’ I look back and I see why people were upset.”
West Coast Grocery produced 585 barrels of beer in 2021, according to the BA. Married couple brewery Whitney Burnside and chef Doug Adams will open Grand Fir Brewing in its Southeast Portland location, according to the New School.
Colorado’s El Rancho Brewing Co. Seeks Sale
Evergreen, Colorado-based El Rancho Brewing Co. has been listed for sale in an attempt to ward off foreclosure.
“As my attorney puts it: We’re in deep doo-doo here,” co-owner Paul Vincent told BusinessDen. “So, we can’t be terribly picky if we want to survive at all financially, because the worst outcome of this is that the place would sell for pennies on the dollar.”
Vincent’s family acquired the property in 2015 and took out a $1.5 million loan from FirstBank, which filed a foreclosure motion on July 12, BusinessDen reported. The Vincents have been named as defendants in several lawsuits since 2017 from plaintiffs including an investor, a food vendor, a former employee and a social media agency who all claim to be owed money.
Hilco Real Estate’s listing of the property describes it as 21,885 sq. ft. on 4.4 acres with “several outdoor spaces, including an upgraded deck with great views of the Rocky Mountains, garden-level meeting and banquet space for indoor/outdoor events” and “conveniently located en-route from Denver to beautiful ski areas; 31 minutes from downtown.”
Bids are due on September 6, “just a few weeks before a scheduled foreclosure sale,” BusinessDen noted. The price is “subject to offer.”
Last year, El Rancho produced 420 barrels of beer, according to the BA.