Two craft beer breweries close within months. Why?

Two Delaware breweries, including Georgetown-based 16 Mile Brewing Company, closed down within months of one another. 

The Georgetown beer-maker, which shut down Sept. 24, is the first Delaware-based production brewery to close since 1998's loss of Wilmington's Rockford Brewing Company.

In the days since 16 Mile Brewery shut its doors, the Georgetown business has become somewhat of an enigma.

Its social media accounts vanished recently and its official website is "temporarily down." Calls from several local news reporters were left unreturned and owner Brett McCrea has yet to publicly state his reasons for suddenly closing.

Georgetown Mayor Bill West said he spoke to McCrea on Sept. 25, but McCrea offered no comment on his decision.

"I think he was heartbroken that this had to happen," West said, adding that it's difficult to compete without more dining options beyond a food truck. "I think it’s a big thing with these breweries shutting down. People want to be able to eat, have a few beers and not worry about being arrested."

The 16 Mile brewery expanded outside of Georgetown in the summer of 2013, opening a spin-off restaurant 80 miles away at the other end of the state in the former home of Stone Balloon Tavern and Concert Hall in Newark. It only lasted 1-1/2 years before closing, replaced by the location’s current tenant, Stone Balloon Ale House.

West said McCrea had presented plans to Georgetown officials to build a restaurant on site but eventually "decided he didn't want to go that route."

In an increasingly competitive industry — especially in Delaware, which now boasts nearly 25 breweries — there are several reasons why small-scale craft breweries have a high failure rate, according to Bart Watson, chief economist for Brewers Association.

Financial constraints, disagreements among partners, landlord issues, the owner simply wanting to move on, or the everyday struggle of staying ahead on trends and remaining relevant are all pressures that can make a small business like a microbrewery crack. 

"(Brewery) closures are going up, but that’s just a factor of having more breweries than we’ve ever had in the U.S.," Watson said.

Last year, 165 microbreweries and brewpubs shut their doors in the U.S. That's the highest number the Brewers Association has on record, though it accounted for less than 3 percent of the market, Watson said.

16 Mile is not the only Delaware brewery that closed this year. Frozen Toes, an in-house brewery at Pizza by Elizabeths in Wilmington, shut down operations this summer after a four-year run.

"Everything was good with the beer, but I was starting to spread myself too thin," said Paul Egnor, who ran brewing operations while serving as executive chef at the pizza restaurant. “The restaurant and my family took precedence over the beer.”

Egnor said Frozen Toes produced just over 30 beers, which were all sold exclusively at Pizza by Elizabeths.

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16 Mile Brewing Company opened in 2009, making it one of the older breweries in the county, according to Watson. 

Delaware beer historian John Medkeff Jr. says he doesn't know the reason for 16 Mile's demise, but he believes the brewery wasn't nimble enough to keep up with quick-changing trends in the beer world.

"They were doing all ales and what they were doing was good, but the way the market is now, you have to react quickly and be able to produce the type of beers people want to drink," he says. "I just don't know they were doing that with their flagship beers. They weren't flexible. They were pigeonholed into four or five beers."

Watson could not comment directly on 16 Mile's closure either, but he pointed out that in this day and age, the "bare minimum" for surviving as a brewery is "making delicious, high quality beer."

"You need to stand out," he added. "I think the buzz word is differentiation, but how that looks varies on business model and location."

That word that resonates with Lori Clough, who co-owns 3rd Wave Brewing Company in Delmar. 16 Mile was the closest Delaware brewery to Clough’s business.

“We were all shocked,” Clough said of the Georgetown brewery shutting down. “It’s always sad to see any business close, and one in our industry is especially sad.”

Clough could not comment on the reasons why 16 Mile may have closed, but she understands the daily grind of making good beer, following industry trends and selling the product.

“It’s a tough, tough business,” Clough said. “There’s a lot of competition.”

The number of breweries in Delaware has tripled since 3rd Wave opened in 2012, according to Brewers Association figures. In the years since, Clough has seen double IPAs, New England IPAs, fruity sours and canned beer trend.

“In a few years I don’t know what it will be,” she said. “Every day is a challenge just to stay at the top of your game, to stay relevant to what’s going on in the industry.”

Staying on top of trends isn’t the only challenge: There are bad batches, experiments that taste less than stellar and bigger brewing companies that buy up all the good hops.

Clough says 3rd Wave has helped support the community and local businesses. Similarly to 16 Mile, they hold fundraisers, have food trucks on site and sell their beer to retailers.

Sept. 28 marks 3rd Wave’s sixth anniversary. The brewery opened shop five months after Evolution Craft Brewing Company moved to Salisbury from its original Delmar location.

Mayor West is hoping the same will happen in Georgetown and hinted that talks with area businesses were already under way to open either a brewpub or sports bar.

“I think that’s the way of the future, and I want one in Georgetown,” West said.