Beverage companies faced a year of financial distress in 2024, led by a "beerpocalypse" that featured several craft breweries filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The distress began a year earlier for Anchor Brewing, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2023 and shut down operations.
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The brewery, established in 1869, found new life in May 2024 when Chobani yogurt founder Hamdi Ulukaya bought the company out of bankruptcy. However, the company has not relaunched operations, and its website has no news about an estimated date for restart.
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Several more breweries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024, including Zydeco Brew Werks of Ybor City, Fla. which planned to close its main brewery and restaurant location on 7th Avenue in Tampa, Fla., for the last time on Jan. 21.
Also, Cherry Hill, N.J.-based craft brewery Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing filed for Chapter 11 protection on Jan. 12 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey facing economic hardship after the company's owner was not allowed to renegotiate its lease with the brewer's landlord.
Wineries also suffered from financial distress that led to bankruptcy filings.
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Vintage Wine Estates, which once owned about 60 labels such as Girard Winery, B.R. Cohn, Kunde, Viansa Sonoma, and Windsor Vineyards, on July 24, 2024, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware listing $475 million in assets and $400 million in liabilities.
The Santa Rosa, Calif.-based debtor won approval in September 2024 to sell off its wineries and brands to several buyers in a bankruptcy auction for over $140 million.
Winery and craft brewer files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
SpringGate Vineyard owner Schoffstall Farm, which produced wine and brewed craft beer, on May 14, 2024, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize and seek a sale of its assets.
Harrisburg, Pa.-based SpringGate began with a single test acre of vineyards in 2010, expanded with six more acres in 2013 and another four acres in 2014. The winery grows a variety of grapes, including Noiret, Cornell's Riesling Hybrid, Vidal, Cornell's Hybrid Muscato, Cabernet Franc, and Marquette.
The winery opened its brewery in June 2015 and offers its products through its onsite Biergarten, or dozens of beer distributors and Giant stores in Pennsylvania.
Image source: Getty Images
Donald Patz Wine Group files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Finally, popular Napa Valley winery owner Donald Patz Wine Group on Jan. 27 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize its business.
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The Napa, Calif., wine producer operates Maritana Vineyards, which specializes in Russian River Valley chardonnay and pinot noir; Terminim Wines, which produces Mendocino County Marsanne/Rousanne and syrah; and Secret Door Winery, which makes Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon.
The company maintains operations in Napa, Calistoga, Sonoma, and Windsor, Calif.
Donald Patz established his winery group in May 2017 after selling his interest in Patz & Hall Winery in 2016 to Ste. Michelle Wine Estates.
The debtor listed $1 million to $10 million in assets and liabilities in its petition and indicated that funds would be available for distribution to unsecured creditors.
The petition, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California in Santa Rosa, did not state why the debtor filed for bankruptcy.
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