For more than two decades, pints of lagers and ales flowed from the taps at 21st Amendment Brewery.
An early mover in craft brewing, the bar and restaurant flourished in San Francisco’s South Park neighborhood, near the financial district and the Giants’ Oracle Park, serving its own specialties like Hell or High Watermelon beer.
But after 25 years, 21st Amendment, named after the constitutional amendment that made alcohol legal after Prohibition, will say “last call” for the final time later this month as it shuts its doors.
What’s happened to 21st Amendment isn’t unique, as craft breweries across the country shutter or file for bankruptcy at a rapid rate.
Sales of craft beer fell 4 percent last year,according to the Brewers Association, the lobbying arm for small and independent brewers. There have been more brewery closings than openings over the past 18 months, the first time that has happened in 20 years.
And the big beer companies, which built or acquired smaller craft breweries during the industry’s heyday, are now jettisoning some of those brands. Last year, Molson Coors sold four of its craft beer companies to a cannabis company, Tilray Brands. Brewers and others in the industry say they’re in the midst of a broader shakeout that will probably push more smaller breweries over the edge.
“We’ve been suffering with declining sales since Covid. Our San Francisco restaurant has not made money since 2019,” said Nico Freccia, co-founder of 21st Amendment. “We kept waiting for San Francisco to get better and come back, but it didn’t happen.”
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The post Craft Breweries Struggle as Sales and Appetites Wane appeared first on New York Times.
