Well, our last brewery closing of 2024 is upon us. Sunday, December 22, 2024 will be Hellbender Brewing Company’s last day. The brewery made it to 11 years thanks to the doggedness, determination, and–we mean this in the best way possible–stubbornness of co-founder and owner Ben Evans and the Manor Park and Lamond Riggs communities that turned Hellbender into a neighborhood gathering spot.
The star-crossed brewery
- filed for bankruptcy in 2016;
- dealt with the sudden departure of a co-founder just before a global pandemic (2019), forcing them to close for a month (2022), only to reopen without outdoor space for much of the summer of 2022;
- did a nice thing by brewing a beer to honor a brewer’s grandfather (2020), only to have it result in national backlash;
- suffered a broken boiler last spring that prevented them from making beer for several months.
In a message shared to social media earlier today, Evans wrote, “Good afternoon. Hellbender Brewing Company will be closing at the end of this week after over 10 years of business. This has been an extremely difficult decision, but it is final. We love our local community and LT Goodluck and I are passionate about beer. Our last day of operation will be this Sunday, 12/22. I want to thank everyone who helped us get this far. Nothing about this journey has been easy, but 2024 has been our most difficult year to date. I hope that people find other spaces that are trying to bring the community together, and I hope that they support them any way they can. We look forward to raising one last pint with you all over the next several days.”
Goodluck added, “All tanks have been emptied into kegs and cans. All brew house equipment has been shut off. I’ll be back behind the bar tonight, tomorrow and this weekend. Stop by to have a pint and say good bye through our last day on 12/22.”
It’s a sad way to end 2024. Please join us in sending them out in style, and perhaps we’ll have more on what comes next soon.
