Local brewpub shutting down

Evanston's first brewery is announcing Last Call.

Temperance Beer Co., which brews award-winning beer in part of its building on Dempster Street, and sells it in the attached tap room, will serve its final suds on Oct. 27.

In a social media announcement, founder and owner Josh Gilbert said, "Unfortunately, the world of craft beer today is barely recognizable to craft beer circa 2013 [when Temperance opened]. It's difficult to even imagine that kind of excitement for a new brewery launch these days."

In an interview with Evanston Now, Gilbert said that craft brewing (small breweries) "is definitely a contracting industry right now."

Inflation is one culprit.

"We couldn't raise our prices" and still remain competitive, even as production costs kept going up, Gilbert explained.

Another factor: "American drinking habits changed dramatically after COVID."

During the pandemic, Gilbert noted, many people simply used food delivery services. But once the COVID threat was gone, the "stay home" habit became more common.

Plus, the more frequent "go out to bars" crowd is consuming less beer.

Ages 21-25,Gilbert noted, may be more into wine, spirits and alcohol-infused seltzer than are their older millennial brothers and sisters.

Legalization of marijuana is likely another reason for not quaffing as many brewskis.

Pot is a "less caloric choice," Gilbert concedes.

"We're up against a lot of headwinds."

Even mega-brewers are facing those headwinds, but they're in better shape to face the financial storm.

Anheuser-Busch, for example, brews about 100 million barrels of beer annually. Last year, Temperance brewed about 2,500.

Gilbert said he hopes the Temperance brand of canned beer could continue into the future, but that would require a different company buying the name once Temperance ceases to exist.

Another Evanston brewpub, Smylie Brothers, closed at the end of 2022, citing the lasting impact of the pandemic on their business.

And an online journal called "Paste," which covers "Music, Film, & Culture," last year had a headline saying " For Many Craft Breweries, the Apocalypse is Now ."

The publication, citing data from the Brewers Association, said "2023 was a historically bad year for 'small, independent' craft breweries," with more than 385 closings, "which would be the most of the modern era," even more than the first year of the COVID pandemic.

Despite all those closings, more than 420 new craft breweries still opened, but Josh Gilbert's experiences with Temperance could serve as a warning.

Changing trends, he noted in the statement, have "claimed another small, family-owned business."