The potential loss of some favorites comes as a beloved brewery declared bankruptcy this month.
Brüeprint Brewing Company, a North Carolina-based microbrewery that has produced at least 18 different beers, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 9.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is not the same as Chapter 11.
According to Investopedia, Chapter 11 often allows a company to continue operating normally while under court supervision, whereas Chapter 7 requires it to close its doors completely and sell its assets to pay creditors the debt it owes.
In its filing, Brüeprint Brewing Company listed approximately $1.78 million in liabilities and $100,000 to $1 million in assets.
Brüeprint is currently marked as “permanently closed” on Google.
It was founded in April 2014 and produces popular beers such as Pale Brüe Eyes, Brüenette, Brüe Scarlet Amber Ale, Edinbrüe Scotch Ale, and Midnight Brüe.
Several North Carolina restaurants collaborated with the company to offer the beers on tap.
Whole Foods, Food Lion, Fresh Market, Total Wine & More, Wegmans, Harris Teeter, Lowe’s Food, and Weaver Street Markets all sold it.
According to recent updates to the Brüeprint Brewing Company website, the taproom closed and moved in the fall of last year.
The new site’s location was never revealed, but advertisements promised $5 pints and merchandise discounts.
Microbreweries have been struggling for years, according to the Daily Mail.
Thousands of distilleries opened across the country between the 2010s and 2020s, and while the growth was initially positive, the market appears to have become oversaturated.
As a result, other businesses have followed suit and gone out of business.
For example, ABC affiliate KSAT reports that Texas-based Alamo Beer Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February.
It cited in its filing that it was operating only at 20% capacity due to a lack of demand.
Molson Coors, one of the biggest beer producers in the United States, also closed a popular brewery in 2024.
DRINKS DOWN
With inflation and an uncertain economic landscape, alcohol consumption has decreased.
Not to mention that, according to a Gallup survey conducted in 2023, younger adults are drinking less alcohol than before.
Between 2001-2003 and 2021-2023, the proportion of people under the age of 35 who drink fell from 72% to 62%.
Another World Finance report found that Gen Z drinks about 20% less than Millennials.
Breweries aren’t the only businesses facing financial difficulties recently; several mall-based retailers have filed for bankruptcy.
At the end of March, Forever 21 filed its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced plans to close all of its remaining stores.
Similarly, Express filed in April 2024, closing approximately 100 mall stores.
