Craft breweries have struggled for the past few years as demand for the product has lessened due to a variety of economic and social reasons.
“Barring a drastic change in the last few weeks of the year, 2025 will be the second consecutive year in which brewery closings outpace brewery openings. Throughout the year, the BA has tracked 268 new brewery openings and 434 closings,” according to the Brewers’ Association’s 2025 Year in Beer.
While independent craft breweries have always been a challenging business, the dip has impacted larger brands as well.
“Changing consumer behaviors, retailer rationalization, cost increases due to inflation and tariffs, and more competition than ever have been compounding difficulties in 2025,” said BA staff economist Matt Gacioch.
BrewDog, a global brand, survived the United Kingdom’s version of bankruptcy and was purchased by Tilray, an American beverage and cannabis company. That has not ended the company’s struggles.
BrewDog was rescued from administration
BrewDog was not traded on any stock exchange, but it did sell stock to shareholders. That equity was wiped out in February when the company was placed into administration in the U.K.
“When a company goes into administration, they have entered a legal process (under the Insolvency Act 1986) with the aim of achieving one of the statutory objectives of an administration. This may be to rescue a viable business that is insolvent due to cashflow problems,” according to a U.K. government web page.
In that process, an administrator is picked to manage the sale or shutdown of the brand. For BrewDog, that led to Tilray buying some of the company’s assets. The purchase did not include the company’s brewpubs and other assets in the United States and Australia, according to a Tilray press release.
“Tilray is separately negotiating to acquire certain BrewDog assets in the United States and Australia,” the company added.
BrewDog has closed nearly 40 brewpubs
As part of the initial bankruptcy-like process, BrewDog closed 38 locations in the U.K. It has now suddenly closed its Atlanta brewpub in the U.S.
The closures come as the craft beer boom has slowed, with production falling, brewery counts shrinking, and costs rising across the industry
Customers arrived at the Atlanta location to find its doors closed with no explanation. The brewpub did share a goodbye on its Instagram page.
“After several amazing years on the BeltLine, BrewDog Atlanta is closing its doors today,” the company posted. “…This was not an easy decision, but as we look toward the future of the business, we’re focused on how best to position BrewDog’s brands for the next chapter in the U.S.”
The company’s U.S. assets are still controlled by the U.K. administrator, and this decision was likely made in consultation with Tilray as part of the ongoing sale process.
Alix Partners has been managing the brand’s sale during the administration process.
“No offer was made at any stage of the sales process, from any prospective bidder, which would have preserved BrewDog in its entirety,” AlixPartners, which acted as the administrator for BrewDog, said in a statement to The Guardian.
A brief timeline on BrewDog’s sale
- BrewDog shut down 38 bars across the U.K. and Ireland after entering administration and selling parts of the business in a rescue deal, according to Yahoo U.K.
- The closures resulted in about 484 job losses after the shuttered bars were not included in the rescue deal, added Yahoo U.K.
- Tilray acquired BrewDog’s brand, brewery in Ellon, and 11 bars for about £33 million in a pre-pack administration deal, according to The Star.
- The sale preserved about 733 jobs tied to the brewery and the bars that were included in the deal, The Star added.
Tilray expects the BrewDog purchase will add $500 million in annual revenue to its diversified beverage platform that includes craft beer, cannabis-laced beverages, energy drinks, and water.
“Expanding Tilray’s established U.S. beverage brands into international markets is a strategic priority and a natural next phase of growth. The addition of BrewDog accelerates our ability to enter new markets by providing scaled brewing capacity outside the U.S., an established international distribution network, and a premier brewpub and hospitality infrastructure in the UK and select international markets,” the company shared.
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BrewDog shareholders wiped out
BrewDod sold shares in the company through private sales.
“More than 200,000 ‘equity for punks’ investors, many of whom had at one stage hoped to cash in from a stock market float projected to value the company at £2bn, will not receive anything,” according to AlixPartners.
Unite, a trade union representing hundreds of workers laid off as part of the sale process, based
“A company does not lose 97% of its value in the space of nine years without catastrophic mismanagement. Directors past and present pursued reckless expansion and failed strategies, and now workers are paying the price for boardroom failure,” Unite told The Guardian.
BrewDog may be the largest brewery and brewpub failure over the past few years, but it’s part of a long list of struggling players in the space.
“The amount of money it takes to keep a brewery running is exorbitant, and if you don’t have unique, creative ways to pivot, then you’ll be out of business,” Jeff Lozano, director of brand experience for San Diego brewery Ballast Point, told Axios.
A brief BrewDog history:
- Founded in 2007: BrewDog was founded in Fraserburgh, Scotland, by James Watt and Martin Dickie to challenge mass-market beer with bold craft offerings, according to the company’s website.
- Flagship beer: Punk IPA became BrewDog’s breakout product and one of the best-selling craft beers in the U.K., driving international growth, reported the BBC.
- Equity for Punks crowdfunding: Launched in 2009, the program allowed fans to buy shares and helped fund rapid expansion, according to the Financial Times.
- Other notable beers: Included Elvis Juice, Hazy Jane, Dead Pony Club, and Jet Black Heart, added the company.
- Global expansion: By the late 2010s, BrewDog operated breweries in Scotland, the U.S., Germany, and Australia, with a large international bar network.
- Recent challenges: BrewDog has closed underperforming bars and faced scrutiny over workplace culture. Co-founder James Watt stepped down as CEO in 2024 as the company shifted toward profitability, according to the BBC.
- Current situation: The company has closed its distillery operations and has hired Alix Partners for a quick sale/liquidation of the brand, according to The Independent.
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