USA, CT: Hopmeadow Brewing Company announces closure at the end of the year

Hopmeadow Brewing Company in Avon has announced it will be closing its doors after eight years in business, Yahoo reported on December 2.

The owner of the popular brewery, located at 205 Old Farms Road, made the surprise announcement in a Facebook post, stating that the establishment will close at the end of the year.

“The Hopmeadow family is closing the brewery at the end of this year. We thank the community for welcoming and supporting us and helping us have our little dream of owning a family business,” the brewery said on social media. “We hope to see you this holiday season and would love to share a pint and celebrate the past, the present and future endeavors.”

Hopmeadow Brewing Company opened back in 2017 and is the vision of chef-turned-brewer Bryan Hickey, who along with the help of his family, has run the day-to-day operations. Hickey is the brewmaster, while his son Gabriel, has helped as assistant brewer, and his daughter Olivia, is the cashier. Hickey’s wife Christy is the artist and sign-maker and runs the tap room.

Hickey said that the last few years since the pandemic have made it tougher for the brewery to stay open amid rising costs and thinner profit margins. But he also said that the landlord at the current space has made it difficult to stay at the location.

“It has been a rough 4.5 years opening a brewery right after the pandemic shut down and a rough time for craft beer in general,” he said. “As well as restricting state regulations, uncooperative landlord, the economy … the list goes on. As you can see on our Facebook feed, we brewed really good beer and customers loved the brewery but we were stifled by our location. After the time and money spent renovating our current space, relocation is just too expensive.”

The brewery, located in a former industrial building, has high ceilings, big windows and five stainless steel tanks and is decorated with lots of Christy’s artwork, including a mural with images of vines and hops. The tap room and brewery area is about 2,000 square feet with additional patio space outside.

“I did complete one of my dreams I’ve had scene I was 21, to open my own brewery. It was an extremely rewarding experience,” Hickey said.

Hickey previously told the Courant he chose the name Hopmeadow because it’s the name of a main street in Simsbury that the family travels on to get to the business and is said to have a tie-in with hops, a flower that is key to beer-making, giving it aroma, flavor and keeping freshness.

The post announcing the closure has since generated hundreds of likes and farewell messages on social media.

“I am devastated! You have been my home for 4 years,” a Facebook user commented on the post.

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