15-year-old brewery, beer brand closing, no bankruptcy

It has not been a great year for the brewery business. Only a small percentage of breweries have closed, but many of the brands impacted were small breweries with deep community ties.

Some brewery owners could not service their Covid debt, while others simply weren't selling enough to keep up with their bills.

"The Beer Institute’s taxable removals report shows total U.S. beer shipments down 5.9% year-to-date through May 2025. That’s nearly 3.7 million barrels fewer than the same period last year. May alone saw a 2.6% decline. January and February were worse, at -8.8% and -16.5%, respectively. For small brewers, these figures point to softened demand, tighter distributor interest, and potential overproduction risks," Craft Brewing Business reported.

Not every brewery has hit hard times.

"There are still plenty of signs of life in the industry: 49% of survey respondents reported growth, while 47% reported a decline in production (the rest stayed flat). Many of the growth stories came from some of the smallest taprooms and brewpubs. That two-point spread becomes seven points (50% growth, 43% decline) for breweries producing less than 1,000 barrels annually. Although taprooms and brewpubs make up just a small percentage of the overall volume in the industry (15% in 2024), they represent an outsized 73% of craft businesses," the Brewers Association reported.

The craft beer industry has declined

• As of June 2025, there were 9,269 craft breweries operating in the U.S., down about 1% from 9,352 a year earlier.
  Source: Craft Brewing Business
• The drop was driven mostly by microbreweries (distribution-focused), which saw a 3% decline; taprooms were down 1%. Meanwhile, brewpubs and regional breweries held roughly steady.
• On a full-year basis (2024 to 2025), the situation is even more pronounced: The previous year saw more closures than openings for the first time since 2005.
• Official 2024 Brewers Association data showed 430 new craft-brewery openings and 529 closures over the course of that year.
  Source: Brewers Association

"The results of this midyear survey indicate that for many breweries, the challenges they've faced over the past few years have either continued or accelerated," said Matt Gacioch, the association's staff economist, referring to the mid-year report from the Brewers Association.

Now, another well-established local brewery, the Port Jeff Brewing Company, which is often called the Port Jeff Brewery, has shared plans to close.

Port Jeff Brewery shares closing message

Port Jeff Brewing Co. technically has a 15-year history, but its roots really go deeper than that.

"Port Jeff Brewing Company was founded in October of 2011 by Michael Philbrick, a local resident. After homebrewing for 10 years, he opened Port Jefferson's only brewery — located in the heart of the village, directly across from the bustling ferry that connects Long Island and Connecticut," the company shared on its website.

Its beers, which were all made on site at its Long Island taproom, were sold throughout Long Island and New York City.

The company posted a message about its impending shutdown on its website.

"After 15 years, it’s time for one final encore. Port Jeff Brewing Co. will be closing soon — and we’d love nothing more than to share one last pour with the people who made this place home. If this brewery ever gave you a good night, a good song, or a good friend…come say goodbye and help us finish this chapter right," the company posted on Facebook.

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The brewery's followers were not happy at the news.

"We moved to Texas 3 years ago, but visit family every summer and spend our Wednesdays there. My daughter grew up dancing to the music. I'm heartbroken to hear this. I was truly hoping to keep the summer vibe alive for my son to experience. I wish you the best. Port Jeff will never be the same. Honestly, it might not make it a spot to visit when we come back home now," wrote Lauran Lyn.

Some were just thankful for the memories.

"Wishing you all the best! I’ll always remember Port Jeff Brewing Company as one of the few LI breweries with good beer and for your generosity when we used to host fundraisers. Cheers to your next adventure," posted Dani DeLongis Coggiano.

No closing date has been set, and the brewery said it would post a final date on its Facebook page soon.

Port Jeff Brewery closing at a glance

• The brewery recently announced it will close after nearly 15 years.
• The owner cited economic conditions and a “lack of business” as the main reason for shutting down.
  Source: Newsday
• Back when it was expanding, space constraints were already an issue: The brewery’s original 7-barrel setup and small tasting-room footprint limited growth.
  Source: CraftBeer.com
• Over time, rising costs, competition in the craft-beer market, and perhaps changing consumer habits likely made it harder to sustain — pressures similar to those a number of independent breweries have been facing.

The brewery was built because Philbrick wanted to model the beer scene in a nearby market.

“It was after seeing all the breweries that had emerged in Pennsylvania throughout the mid-to-late 90s when I was living there, and then moving to New York and seeing the absence of that and the potential, I was like, it’s ridiculous that there is no brewery out here in Port Jeff,” Philbrick told Craft Beer back in 2015.

“There was nowhere for anybody to go. So being a guy that would regularly visit two to three breweries a week in Pennsylvania that were all local to me — Victory, Weyerbacher, Stoudts — and having nothing like that in New York, that was really the catalyst to definitely get into brewing and to definitely do it in Port Jeff,” he added.

Related: 37-year-old liquor and beer brand files Chapter 7 bankruptcy, liquidating