Brewery Closures
Pontoon Brewing closing October 28th
Atlanta-based Pontoon Brewing will close both their locations on October 28th.
As is pretty standard these days, Pontoon Brewing took to Instagram to announce the brewery will close their doors after their last scheduled event on October 28th. In the post, Pontoon blames a lack of payments from their main distributing partner for the brewery’s demise, stopping short of naming which distributor that has not paid the brewery.
With the current state of the economy, it’s been a bumpier ride than anticipated, but we continued to grow strike up new partnerships, grow our team, and shine bright! That said, due to one of our main distribution partners not paying us for our product, we are faced with a dire situation and are forced to temporarily close our doors while we find a new partner or buyer for the business.
Pontoon Brewing via Instagram
An email shared anonymously this week from an employee at Pontoon to unknown recipients, was much more direct, stating “Pontoon Brewing closing its doors.”
PICS: PONTOON BREWING’S 2ND ANNIVERSARY
Pontoon Brewing opened it’s doors in Sandy Springs, Georgia in January of 2018, and opening a 2nd location dubbed “The Lodge” in nearby Tucker, Georgia in September 2022.
Messages to Pontoon Brewing were not immediately returned.
Below, Beer Street Journal images of Pontoon Brewing’s ribbon cutting ceremony from January 2018.
Birds Fly South Ale Project to close October 10th
Greenville, South Carolina’s Birds Fly South has announced they will close on October 10th, 2023.
Shawn and Lindsay Johnson started Birds Fly South Ale Project 7 years ago in the Hampton Station area of Greenville, South Carolina. The couple met and married while Shawn was in the Coast Guard in Clearwater, Florida. Shortly after getting married, the opportunity came for the Johnsons to move to either Hawaii or Alaska and they chose Alaska. As you can imagine, the weather in America’s 49th state isn’t as conducive to outdoor activities as Florida, so they took up brewing beer. Indoors.
A few years later, the family transferred back to Florida, and that’s where Shawn & Lindsay’s brewing career really took off. From the first time Beer Street Journal met Shawn, he always spoke so highly of his brewing mentor, Bob Sylvester, founder of St. Somewhere Brewing in Tampa, Florida.
Before Greenville, there was a stop in Washington D.C., putting in time assisting in the opening of Fair Winds Brewing Company, then getting transferred to South Carolina.
Last night, Shawn and Lindsay announced on Instagram the brewery would close after their final jazz event on October 10th.
We wish that this was a fairy tale ending, but recognize all good things must come to an end. Timing is everything, and we embarked on an expansion to increase our taproom sales that have taken a hit over the last year. We don’t regret that decision, only the way we went about it.
The silver lining is that we are able to step away from the stress of running a business to have more time to focus on our family. This is our opportunity to embark on a new adventure and enjoy a new pace of life.Birds Fly South via Instagram
On a personal note, Shawn and Lindsay, as well as the entire brewery crew and fans they call “The Flock” are some of the kindest, outgoing, family-focused breweries I’ve ever been to. Their wild ale Skin & Bone is still one of the best of its kind In the southeast. It’s heartbreaking to hear this brewery won’t be there on the next trip to Greenville.
Below are some pics from Beer Street Journal’s first visit to Birds Fly South, featuring Shawn, Lindsay, and family back in August of 2016.
Anderby Brewing & Distilling announces closure
Anderby Brewing & Distilling, based in Peachtree Corners, Georgia announced they will close effectively July 3rd after five years of operation. According to an Instagram post announcement, revenues never reached the levels the brewery had hoped.
Unfortunately, due a variety of circumstances, revenues have never reached a level where our operation can sustain itself. We have personally given everything we have; money, sweat, tears, health, etc. to keep things going. While we know there are a lot of great things coming to our area that we were excited to be a part of, we have nothing left to give.
via Instagram
Anderby Brewing is another in a line of recent brewery closures in Georgia – including Orpheus Brewing, Burnt Hickory Brewing, Second Self Brewing, Tantrum Brewing, and Sabbath Brewing.
Burnt Hickory shuts down production & taproom
At their 10-year mark, Burnt Hickory Brewing announced today on social media that Kennesaw, Georgia-based facility will pause all production and close its taproom indefinitely. The post alludes to a new search for another taproom space to open at some point in the future.
As this has been a tough decision to announce, Burnt Hickory Brewery will be pausing all operations and closing our current taproom indefinitely in Kennesaw on 5/31/2023. This was not an easy choice to make, as we love our community and have been so thankful to serve you great craft beer for over 10 years. We, as the Burnt Hickory Brewery family and team are so grateful for all the love & support that we have received from everyone. However, the craft beer industry has changed and grown drastically, and Burnt Hickory must grow right along with the industry. We believe that our focus needs to be on our community and on our taproom. Namely, we will be taking our time to focus on locking down a new location that provides our customers with a top-tier space to enjoy Burnt Hickory beer that it deserves to be served in.
Come out and have some beers with us over the next week to reminisce the past 10 years here at Burnt Hickory Brewery!via Instagram
Burnt Hickory was opened in 2012 by Scott Hedeen.
Emails to the brewery were not returned.
Orpheus Brewing to close Atlanta location
Orpheus Brewing’s founder and brewmaster Jason Pellett announced today on social media that the brewery will close their current facility on Dutch Valley Road in Atlanta on April 23rd.
As the brewery closes down its current taproom and brewery, brewing operations will shift into the hands of Bevana, a third-party beverage company based in North Carolina. Bevana has already partnered with notable breweries like Unknown Brewing, D9, and Fatty’s Beer Works. Orpheus Brewing’s beers will continue to be available in-market with no disruptions.
Additionally, Pellett stated it is his intention to eventually find a smaller space for a brewery/taproom in the future.
Orpheus Brewing opened its doors in May 2014.
