More Ohio breweries have closed than opened in 2025 so far

CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — Roughly 30 Ohio breweries have shuttered this year so far, and a big reason behind that is due to a drop in consumerism.

Ohio Craft Brewers Association Deputy Director Justin Hemminger said, "Up until this year, Ohio's had more breweries open than close. The national trend flipped in 2024, and unfortunately, Ohio is going to see us following the national trend in 2025."

As of 2024, there were 440 craft breweries in Ohio.

46 breweries opened last year and 53 were in the works.

The official data for this year has not been released yet.

Hemminger said, though, while 30 have closed this year so far, 20 are opening.

Realistically, Ohio is losing at least 10 breweries in 2025.

"It's not like everyone's closing all at once. What we're seeing is after about a decade of really explosive growth, the market has matured and has kind of flattened off, which is what happens to any growing industry. At some point, you get to a point where you've gone from a niche thing to a mainstream thing," Hemminger said.

Hemminger told me one reason more breweries have been announcing closures is that permit renewals start at the beginning of October.

"A lot of them have to make a choice before they renew their permit. Do I wanna hack away at this for another year, or am I ready to call it quits?" Hemminger said. "The timing issue, like there's always a little bump in the number of closings that happen towards Q3, Q4 of every year."

I stopped by five breweries on Tuesday to check in with owners and general managers to see how business was going.

Saucy Brew Works Owner, Brent Zimmerman, told me it's been a hard year for restaurants in general.

Zimmerman said he's noticed since opening the brewery in 2017 that younger generations aren't drinking as much beer.

"There's a much bigger movement of 'better for you' alternatives to beer, etc.," he told me. "I think it's also a little exacerbated because we talk about, like, well, the craft beer market is in decline. Well, it is, but it's, you know, three to five percent a year. It's not like it is in the headlines at 50%. It's little pieces of which eat away at what once was a fortress."

Zimmerman also explained the struggle of keeping up with rising costs.

"Labor has not abated from the pressures we got during COVID. That's the same. The quality of employee is not what it used to be, and there's a lot of micromanaging going on. The cost of everything we buy is more. Insurance is ludicrous. Our cost of health insurance is 100% higher. At least every single year, it's higher. It's not sustainable, no matter what business it is. It's tough out there," Zimmerman said.

I asked Zimmerman if he felt like Saucy Brew Works was in a stable position.

He told me, "I think you need to innovate at all times, no matter what. I think you need to have diversity in what you're providing as a beverage company, and preferences are changing."

Zimmerman said he's never ecstatic to hear of a fellow brewery closure, but it means more consumer dollars flowing to fewer craft brew establishments, which in turn helps his business.

"Well, there's going to be winners and losers. This is democracy. This is capitalism. So, my bet is that we'll be one of the winners," he said.

For more than a year, Zimmerman said he has seen only the top 5% of earners not struggle, which forces him to re-evaluate how he can add more value to customers to ensure business.

"I think that's where we start with everything, and it may or may not be enough," Zimmerman said.

Hemminger said breweries are not falling off a cliff, but reiterates that being a business owner comes with more struggles than it did a decade ago.

"It's not a trend we would love to see continue," Hemminger said. "We wanna see more breweries open than close. What we really wanna see is the breweries that are open be successful. I think the brewery industry has kind of carved out a special space in most communities. These are things that, you know, Netflix doesn't do for you when you decide to stay home on a Friday night. You don't get that kind of community with a streaming service."

Hemminger said he understands how bad the economic crisis is for Ohioans, but pleads with the community to continue supporting craft breweries as best they can.

The 19th annual Winter Warmer Festival will take place on March 7 in Cleveland.

Almost 60 local breweries will be participating.

"That is like the premier craft beer event in all of Cleveland, maybe in all of Ohio," Hemminger said.

For more information, head to the Ohio Craft Brewers Association website.

Tickets go on sale Nov. 28.