BrewDog has shuttered its Cincinnati, Ohio-based bar nearly six years after the outpost opened, the company confirmed on Monday.
The company cited increased operating expenses and declining on-premise traffic among the reasons for the closure, which was effective immediately.
“As an Ohio craft brewer, the decision to close our Cincinnati bar was not an easy one but was necessary for the overall health of our business in this market,” BrewDog USA chief sales and marketing officer Eric Franco said in a statement shared with Brewbound. “With rising costs and changing on-premise trends, the bar was not producing the results needed to continue to operate.
“While it’s a hard reality to face, ultimately, we are committed to focusing on the parts of our business that are thriving so we can continue to best serve our people, partners and customers,” he continued.
The Cincinnati closure comes on the heels of a retrenchment of BrewDog’s distribution footprint in 2024. In a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated April 30, the company shared that it “eliminated sales in 19 states” last year, whittling its distribution from 31 U.S. states to 14, as well as distribution to Canada and Bermuda.
The Buckeye State serves as the U.S. center of operations for the Ellon, Scotland-based craft brewery. BrewDog opened a brewery in Canal Winchester, Ohio, in 2017, and the state is home to six of the company’s 11 stateside taprooms.
The Cincinnati outpost opened in November 2019, months before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of the on-premise and upended the craft beer industry.
“It’s been an absolute honor to serve this city,” BrewDog Cincinnati wrote on social media. “Over the years, we’ve shared beers, stories, laughter, and unforgettable moments, and we’re incredibly grateful for every one of them.
“Thank you to our amazing team members, loyal guests, and local partners who brought energy, passion, and good vibes into our taproom every single day.”
BrewDog’s closure is the latest in a string of taproom closures and ownership changes in Cincinnati. Earlier this month, Asheville, North Carolina-based Hi-Wire Brewing announced it was exiting its Queen City taproom and passing the lease over to Braxton Brewing, headquartered in nearby Covington, Kentucky.
In mid-May, the downtown Cincinnati location of nationwide craft beer franchise VooDoo Brewing closed. The brewpub’s owner Chris Sands “really tried to make it work,” he wrote in a letter taped to the establishment’s front door, WCPO 9 Cincinnati reported.
“Unfortunately, the mojo was not on our side as we came close to rounding out two years of business,” Sands wrote.
Ohio craft breweries only saw their number increase by two in 2024, when the state’s craft brewery count reached 421, marking a taper of openings – or an increase in closings – from other post-pandemic years. In 2023, there were 17 more breweries in operation than the prior year, 37 in 2022, and 26 in 2021, according to data from the Brewers Association (BA).
Ohio’s 421 craft breweries ranked the state eighth in number of craft breweries, but 23rd in craft breweries per capita. They produced a combined 1.15 million barrels of beer, ranking sixth, and generated $2.976 billion in economic impact, according to the BA.
BrewDog Cincy wasn’t the first of the Scottish beer maker’s U.S. pubs to close. In April 2022, the company shuttered its Indianapolis taproom, slightly more than a year after a manager terminated four employees who belonged to the LGBTQ+ community. After those firings, the manager was also terminated for not following company protocol. BrewDog Indianapolis, which was the brewery’s first location beyond Ohio, opened two months before BrewDog Cincinnati.
BrewDog and some of its fellow Ohio breweries’ own-premise trends may be challenging, but the company recorded double-digit volume growth in 2024, according to the May/June issue of the Brewers Association’s (BA) New Brewer magazine.
Last year, Brewdog’s output increased 26%, to 89,084 barrels of beer. That growth followed a flattish year in 2023 (+1%), and a slightly down year in 2022 (-3%).
BrewDog’s production gains in 2024 may indicate that the brewery’s attention to its distribution business is paying off, as Franco noted in his statement.
“That focus will continue to be creating solutions in both the off- and on- premise channels, concession classes of trade, and involvement in community and industry-based events,” he said. “We’re grateful for both the support and business we continue to have in Cincinnati and surrounding areas, and will continue to offer your favorite BrewDog beers at our valued chain and independent retail and wholesale partners.”
Year-to-date (YTD) through May 17, BrewDog’s dollar sales have declined 13.3% and volume, measured in case sales, has declined 12.8% at off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm NIQ (Total U.S. xAOC + liquor open state + convenience). Those losses accelerated in the four-week period ending May 17, with dollar sales and volume both declining 19.3%.
However, off-premise scan data cannot paint a complete picture of a brand’s true performance, particularly one with a significant own-premise business, such as BrewDog.
In Ohio, the company operates a hotel and taproom at its Canal Winchester brewery; three taprooms in Columbus (Short North, Franklinton, John Glenn Columbus International Airport); and one taproom in each Cleveland and New Albany.
Outside its Ohio home base, BrewDog operates bars in Las Vegas, Nevada; Atlanta, Georgia; and Denver, Colorado; which is the brewery’s first franchise location.