JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The recent closing of Amelia Island Brewing Company is part of a larger trend of breweries shutting down across the nation.

So far in 2025, Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery closed. But so did Jekyll Brewing, RagTime Tavern, and Ancient City Brewing in St. Augustine. Those were just some of the locally owned breweries forced to close this year. And now the latest victim, Amelia Island Brewing Company.

The Brewers Association’s 2024 annual craft brewing industry production report found that last year, more breweries closed than opened.

Annual Craft Brewing Industry Production Report

A new Gallup poll found that only 54% of U.S. adults consume alcohol, the lowest number they’ve recorded in nearly 90 years.

U.S. Drinking Rate at New Low as Alcohol Concerns Surge

“Across the board, everyone is seeing a downturn in the market right now,” Ron Gamble, Brewmaster and President of Veterans United Craft Brewery, said.

Gamble says he’s seen the spike in the number of breweries closing across northeast Florida. Despite an apparent drop in alcohol consumption and studies pointing to health risks associated with drinking, Gamble thinks the closures have more to do with rising costs than anything else.

“Some of the costs have been going up over the last several years, ever since COVID. You know, with the latest tariffs, if you’re buying products, like we buy products and raw materials out of Canada, so we’re having to face an increase in the tariff costs,” Gamble said.

We reached out to Amelia Island Brewing Company to find out why they are closing their doors.

You can read their statement here:

“After serving the community for over 10 years Amelia Island Brewing Company is closing on Nov. 5th for regular service.

This choice was not made lightly, the ever growing complexity of the food and beverage industry was a major factor- including managing fluctuations in food costs & shifts in the labor markets etc.

AIBC is one of few independent restaurants on the island to offer health insurance reimbursement and other like benefits.

We have offered a two week working notice and two week severance to assist our amazing team in their transition. We are very proud of the brand they have helped to build and we are thankful for a community that has supported us all these years.

We hope everyone comes out on the evening of Nov. 7th to support our team as the company bids the community a final farewell and we float as many of our remaining kegs of locally brewed beer as we can. Cheers.”

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