Somerville Brewing Permanently Closes, Assets to be Sold at Auction; Base Camp Folds

After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, Somerville Brewing Company is permanently closing its doors, according to a social media post Monday.

Somerville Brewing, which sold beers under the Slumbrew Craft Ales brand name, is auctioning its property during a telephone hearing on August 11, according to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of Massachusetts.

When the company filed for chapter 11 in September, court records showed that the company owed more than $1.2 million to six lien-holding creditors.

Court documents filed last month paint a grim picture of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the already struggling brewery.

“The debtor has previously reported that due to the COVID-19 crisis, they were forced to close both of the locations in accordance with the rules and regulations implemented by the commonwealth and the city of Somerville,” Somerville Brewing wrote in its June reconciliation report, which the brewery had to submit monthly. “In June, it was determined to halt the limited operations and the brewing and sales ceased while the debtor prepared for the sale of the assets. Accordingly, the budget is well outside the project sums for revenues and expenditures.”

In June, Somerville’s actual gross profit was -$81, a stark difference from the projected $32,384. However, in February, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of bars and restaurants nationwide, Somerville’s actual gross profit was $154,691; the projected gross profit for that month was $191,320.

Before the pandemic, Somerville operated two locations: a brewery and taproom on Ward Street in the Boston suburb it’s named for and the American Fresh Brewhouse, a brewpub in the city’s Assembly Row entertainment district. The company consolidated operations at its brewery and announced that American Fresh Brewhouse was closed on March 16.

Somerville also operated the American Fresh Beer Garden, a tented beer garden at Assembly Row, until last September.

The company was founded in 2011 and produced 1,500 barrels in 2019, down from 2,750 in 2018, according to trade group the Brewers Association. Somerville’s offerings included Porter Square Porter, Happy Sol and Luma Luma IPA.

Portland, Oregon-Based Base Camp Brewing Closes Indefinitely

Portland, Oregon-based Base Camp Brewing announced last week it will close its doors on August 9.

“Due to the changes brought about by COVID-19 and the current business climate in Portland, we will be closing our doors for the foreseeable future,” the company wrote on social media.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the beer industry, several Portland taprooms had shut down. In October, 23-year-old Lompoc Brewing closed, and Heineken N.V.-owned Lagunitas Brewing shuttered its “Community Room” in the city.

Earlier in 2019, the Gambrinus Company stopped operations at Bridgeport Brewing; Burnside Brewing shut down after nine years; and Craft Brew Alliance shuttered the Widmer Brothers pub in January. In 2018, FIFCO USA closed its 30-year-old Portland Brewing taproom.

Base Camp was founded in 2012. It produced 1,000 barrels in 2019, down from 1,700 barrels in 2018, according to the BA.

Austin Beerworks Offers Chips and Salsa ‘Meal Package’

To remain in compliance with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order requiring breweries to earn at least 51% of their gross receipts from the sale of food, Austin Beerworks has begun including an order of tortilla chips and salsa for $2 with all on-site beer purchases.

“It’s a ‘meal package,’ which is totally allowed by the TABC [Texas Alcoholic beverage Commission]. Hey, we don’t make the rules, we’re just following them,” the brewery wrote on social media.

For almost a month, Texas included the sale of beer to distributors and retailers in each brewery’s gross receipts, which made on-premise service impossible for many Lone Star State craft breweries. The state reversed course on that calculation on July 24, after outcry from brewery owners and beer drinkers.

The Texas Craft Brewers Guild submitted a petition to Abbott’s office in March to allow breweries to sell their offerings directly to consumers via home delivery and in-state shipping. The petition, which has more than 21,200 signatures, has not sparked any official action, the guild’s website said.