Why do breweries close so early?

Most of the breweries around here close at 9 pm, compared to the bars that close at 1 am in this county. I do wish that they were open a little later like 10 to midnight, (since I work evenings and don't get out of work until 9:30 to 10) but I also can see why they wouldn't want to be open as late as bars. Breweries aren't bars. You're not there just to get tanked.

 

how can you compare being at a brewery to being at a bar or specially a night club. This is like saying it doesnt matter if the football field is not open or ready to be used but but the soccer and basketball fields are and "thats what they are there for" but what if I don't like playing soccer or basketball?

 

Once had a guy come into a retail store to say "I like prairie Bomb because it's 13%. I drink it straight from the bottle. It gets me crunked." Once I suggested a 17% beer he dropped it immediately and grabbed that instead.

It's to prevent guys like that who drink craft for the quickest route to inebriation, likely loud and unappreciative, late at night.

May as well be four loko happy hour to them.

 

4Loko get him turnt. 4 4Loko get him crunked.

 

True, completely agree, and I will add that not only breweries, but all liquor/bev. stores, amusement parks where beer is served, winery tasting rooms, and coffee shops/restaurants where beer also is served all stay open until 4:00 AM every day because what is the difference between those things and a bar?

 

Except some breweries annoyingly blast music...I never understood that.

I haven't read through the entire thread, but some of the breweries I have been to later at night don't have many people there. Breweries are more of an older person's game (think 30s, 40s, 50s), so I doubt there's much to gain staying open late.

I'm 36 and I love going to breweries mid-late afternoon and then heading home. It's rare I'm out at a bar past 9 or 10 pm anyways these days.

 

Some of the breweries around here are also coffee shops earlier in the day. I'm not sure how early they open for that, or if they serve beer then.

 

You are on KC Missouri, the Clampettts need to get home by dark and the college kids are drinking crap beers in Westport till 3am

 

Some times it is because the owner/brewer was in at 5 AM to mash in at 6 AM. Some of those guys work incredible hours.

 

At Boulevard, we close earlier than bars for a couple of reasons:

1) We don't want to be a bar. We want to remain a taproom.
2) We don't want to compete with the bars around us for late night business. We'd prefer to get folks excited about our beers and then send them off to explore the city and spend money at the restaurants/bars that support us.

 

Idiotic state laws usually have something to do with this as well, kinda like I have to take a "tour" EVERY SINGLE TIME I want to fill up a growler in NJ

 

I would say two reasons; local municipality rules and the Brewery's insurance policy.

 

What's a basketball field?

That's also not the best analogy, because I can't play football on a basketball court. But I can drink craft beer at a beer bar that's open late. Oftentimes the specific beer I want at a brewery is actually at a local beer bar as well. I've sometimes skipped trips to the brewery because of this.

 

As mentioned above, in the Philly area, many breweries will also close early as not to compete with the bars in their immediate area that support and carry their product.

 

We were (and still are) classified as a winery in order to operate our event spaces. The rental fee covers the use of the room, bar staff and beer. Back then, if we weren't classified as a winery, we'd have to charge each person for each drink as opposed to having it all included in the rental fee. It's not related to selling beer "by the drink" in the Beer Hall.

 

Because breweries are not bars? Don't want drunk people hanging around for hours late at night?

 

Easy. They both serve alcohol. That alcohol serves different purposes, but the later a place is open. The easier it is for things to get weird.

 

Yep, and each state has their own funky laws. You have to look no further than Utah to see local government crippling the beer industry. A shame really.