Some of the closures predate the pandemic, only reinforcing the fact that this brewpub die-off has been underway for quite a while, and can’t be entirely blamed on the economic forces of COVID-19.that have faced classic American “beer bars,” those old establishments that beer geeks loyally patronized thanks to the variety they could offer on tap.
That means they looked at the beer landscape as it was evolving, and elected to give up their own house brands, demonstrating that the perceived value of brewpub beer brands has never been lower. With that said, not every major American brewpub chain has seemingly faced the same waves of closures. One apparent major outlier is the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse chain, the country’s largest brewpub chain in terms of both number of restaurants and barrels of beer produced. They have seemingly managed to keep the overall number of locations
but the relative success of BJ’s where the likes of Rock Bottom have contracted may ultimately prove the point in its own way, when it comes to the importance ofto this equation. Whereas every Rock Bottom location had its own brewhouse, and typically a local brewmaster given the freedom to craft their own lineup of unique beers, the beer program of BJ’s seems entirely standardized and regimented.
If you still have one of these brands slinging pints of amber ale, brown ale or English pale ale in your neighborhood, you might consider paying them a nostalgic visit, while you still can.