Is Fore River Brewing closing for good?

Submitted by schilling207 t3_11nrusg in Maine

They posted a couple days ago that they would be closing down “temporarily as some things are worked out behind the scenes” and Saturday would be their last day. They are selling all kegs and cans at 50% off which leads me to believe this will be more than a few weeks. I understand winter isn’t the busiest of times, but the abrupt closing and somewhat cryptic reason has be a bit worried they might not come back.

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Walter_J_Bro t1_jbor3jt wrote

I hope not, it's so low key and relaxing there. The post said they were working some things out behind the scenes, which I guess could be a lot of things. Maybe issues with their distributor or something ?

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schilling207 OP t1_jbp9mw2 wrote

I love hanging out in there. The fireplace on a cold winter day is the best. It’s also near my work and makes for a great happy hour spot.

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Walter_J_Bro t1_jbpaamw wrote

Totally. The yard is great too. Hopefully they come back soon.

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jeezumbub t1_jbp49ik wrote

I hope they come back too. They brew some of my favorite local beers and their tasting room is great. I feel like they fly under the radar compared to some of the other breweries across the bridge, but I appreciate they there one of the breweries that consistently has good variety and doesn’t just whip up 5 different IPAs and call it a day.

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YolksOnU t1_jbpiqs1 wrote

I hope not, but look around at all the breweries that have opened in the state in the last decade and all the ones being planned and they are all fighting for customers and shelf space. Pair that factor with the rising costs of materials and labor it's just not a surprise to see any of the smaller players go under to me.

See also: The marijuana market. Same shit's going to happen there, at some point, you have to assume, there are just so damn many of them in the state.

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KenMediocre t1_jbuuftw wrote

We went there today and asked point blank - it’s apparently a dispute between owners.

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polaris207 t1_jbpy543 wrote

I hope not - this was such a nice addition to the neighborhood!

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MaineObjective t1_jbql0mg wrote

When it comes to microeconomics, craft beer is definitely near the “perfect competition” end of the spectrum. The market is very saturated. New entrants will either fail or others will be pushed out of the market. Some people who work in the industry in Maine say that this sort of thing was only a matter of time.

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PlacentaSoup t1_jdhnlvh wrote

I hope they come back. Estuary DIPA is my favorite beer of all time.

The fact that they are clearing out inventory at 50% off worries me though. I dont think they would do that if they would be back in business soon. But I know nothing about the brewery business.

The news of the closing came at a bad time for me. I was planning a weekend in Portland and was going to spend an afternoon at Fore River Brewing and re-stock my beer fridge.

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IamSauerKraut t1_jbqai0t wrote

Craft brew is over-subscribed. Lots of places suddenly closing as folks get tired of average beer with crappy sandwiches. And, unfortunately, the side hustles the breweries have as part of the business plan have not hired them as venues are often still less then 50% at the level before 3 years ago.

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