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Did it feel like a lot of Massachusetts breweries closed this year? Here's why
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After 17 years, Radio Boston airs its final show today, and it’s a good one. Tune in at 11 a.m. for an inside look at the MBTA’s track work effort, historic tales from the State House and some personal life advice.
But first, the news:
Beer in review: Today also marks the final day for another longtime pillar of the community: Cambridge Brewing Company. After 35 years, owner Phil Bannatyne is retiring and shutting down the Kendall Square brewpub, which was one of the area’s earliest craft breweries. It caps off a year of consolidation for the local beer industry. Within the last 12 months, Massachusetts has seen a series of closure announcements, from Everett’s Bone Up Brewery last winter to Redemption Rock in Worcester next week. At the same time, other big names have merged or been acquired — such as Jack’s Abby in Framingham gobbling up both Wormtown and Night Shift.
- What’s behind the trend? After a decade of “exponential growth,” it’s simply getting harder for individual breweries to compete, according to Katie Stinchon, the executive director of the Massachusetts Brewers Guild. And the saturation of the market has coincided with the impacts of a pandemic, inflation and rising rents. “It used to be that you could open up a brewery anywhere … and it would be an overnight success,” Stinchon told WBUR’s Dan Guzman. “That’s not the case anymore. You can have tremendous beer and an amazing space, and just not be pulling in the consumers into your taproom to make your business viable.”
- By the numbers: From 2016 to 2023, Massachusetts averaged over 24 openings and nine closings per year, according to the brewer’s guild. But in 2024, the state had 17 openings and 15 closures. Meanwhile at the national level, 2024 saw brewery closures outpace openings for the first time in two decades.
- What’s next: Stinchon says 10 to 12 breweries are expected to open in Massachusetts in the next two years, but most will be second or third locations of existing breweries. The National Brewers Association thinks 2025 will be “another challenging year,” due to uncertainty and potential tariffs on the horizon.
- A silver lining: It’s not all bad news. Brockton Beer Company and Distraction Brewing recently reversed decisions to close. And just this week, Cambridge Brewing announced Castle Island Brewing had bought their intellectual property. That means Castle Island will continue to pour and distribute CBC beer — and even offer it on tap at their locations in Norwood and South Boston.
- Fun fact: Wondering what will happen to CBC’s iconic “Where’s Waldo-like” mural? Bannatyne tells me he plans to take the mural home and then “cut out the faces of the employees and regulars in it, mount them and give them to those people.”
Holiday life hack: For the first time in years, Logan Airport is offering to wrap your holiday gifts for free after you go through security. Massport CEO Rich Davey announced yesterday that gift-wrapping stations will be up and running at Terminals B and E through Christmas Eve.
- Why? The TSA recommends against traveling with wrapped gifts (since they’ll need to be ripped open if they set off an alarm while going through a screener). It’s also a light incentive for people to get last-minute Christmas gifts from the shops at the airport.
On Beacon Hill: The new compromise substance abuse bill has been shipped to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk. Both the House and Senate approved the legislation yesterday afternoon. While some advocates were disappointed the bill did not include high-profile language to allow safe injection sites, the legislation is still a “very big deal,” according to Massachusetts Medical Society President Hugh Taylor. (WBUR’s Martha Bebinger has all the details on what it includes, from naloxone access to welfare law changes.)
On track: A full-speed MBTA is so close you can almost ride it. As WBUR’s Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez reports, crews working on a closed portion of the Green Line are expected to wrap up today, capping their 13-month track improvement plan. When the Green Line fully reopens tomorrow, the entire system will be free of slow zones.
- In other MBTA news: The T’s commuter rail operator reached new contracts with nine additional unions, which had been pretty vocal about their wages and benefits.
P.S.— What does NCAA President (and former Massachusetts governor) Charlie Baker want to ban in college sports? Take our Boston News Quiz and test your knowledge of this week’s stories.
