6 Distilleries and Breweries Shut Down in 2024: Is Your Beer or Whiskey at Risk?

Stores and restaurants have been downsizing this year, and locations have shut down nationwide due to bankruptcy filings.

Some distilleries and breweries have also closed due to financial struggles, resulting in customers losing drinks they liked to buy and enjoy.

Check out these breweries and distilleries that shut down this year to see if you can save money shopping for one of your favorites.

Golden Moon Distillery may not have struck gold with its distillery closing down in May.

The Golden, Colorado-based distillery was expected to have its assets liquidated after it couldn’t find a buyer to help it stay afloat.

One of the first distilleries to open in recent years in Washington, D.C., shut down after struggling in recent years. When it closed, only one employee remained, and the company hadn’t filled new barrels in two years.

The company was part of a bigger trend of distilleries closing or leaving the Ivy City neighborhood of D.C. in recent years.

Alabama’s Ghost Train Brewery became a ghost in September when it filed for bankruptcy.

The company announced a temporary closure in the summer, promising exciting changes for customers. But there’s no word on when or if the brewery will reopen after its bankruptcy filing.

West Reading, Pennsylvania, was the home of the Broken Chair Brewery until earlier this year when the brewery ceased operations.

The brewery opened in 2017 and created almost 90 unique beers during its time in Pennsylvania before shutting down.

World of Beer was a chain of restaurant locations that emphasized its wide selection of beers, including around 500 beers in bottles and cans and 50 beers on tap.

However, the company has struggled in recent years, and the Tampa, Florida-based company filed for bankruptcy in August.

The San Francisco-based Anchor Brewing Company shut down after struggling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving customers without beers from the company that has been in business for 127 years.

But there may be some good news for Anchor Brewing, which was acquired earlier this year and could reopen. The company was picked up in May by Hamdi Ulukaya who is most notable as the CEO of the Chobani yogurt company.

Fewer younger drinkers may be responsible for some of the decline in breweries and distilleries as they’re less likely to drink than past generations.

A 2023 Gallup poll found that 62% of 18-to-34-year-olds said they drink alcohol compared to 72% in 2003.

Breweries and distilleries are also losing customers who may choose other alcoholic beverages over beer and whiskey.

The market has seen an increase in sales for other alternative options, such as canned cocktails and hard seltzers like White Claw.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused plenty of restaurants and bars to fail, including breweries and distilleries that either had their own restaurants or counted on restaurants as clients.

Breweries and distilleries were affected by supply-chain disruptions and a decline in on-premise sales if they also owned a restaurant or bar where they sold their products.

However, some breweries and distilleries survived by shifting to online and off-premise sales to keep them running.

Some drinkers have cut back or eliminated alcohol from their diet and instead have turned to non-alcoholic options when dining out or drinking at home.

Non-alcoholic beer is becoming more popular with drinkers, while hop water is becoming more popular. The carbonated water is flavored with hops and other flavors while staying non-alcoholic.

Drinkers have also started to embrace things like Dry January by abstaining from alcohol to start the new year.

It can be hard to lose your favorite places to go out to eat or have a good drink, but there can also be some advantages.

You may be able to save money on groceries when you go shopping to pick up drinks and food on sale rather than spending extra cash at a local restaurant.

Consider trying some new drinks that are stocked in your grocery store but haven’t been as accessible at a brewery or restaurant.