BREWERY CLOSED
Saratoga Brewing Company started making beer in 1997
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » A Spa City brewery is closed with no explanation why, and beer-lovers are left wondering if they’ve had their last taste of Saratoga Brewing Company beer.
The brewery and taproom, located at 131 Excelsior Ave. in Saratoga Springs, is closed. A sign on the door Wednesday morning stated that the site is closed due to inclement weather (followed by a winking emoji face), but there seems to be more behind the closure. In a social media post made Monday by the Brooklyn-based Braven Brewing Company, it shared that as Saratoga Brewing Company’s partner brewery representatives were busy removing beer and packaging material because
the Saratoga Springs brewery has gone out of business. Braven’s Facebook photo album with images from the clearing out process was titled Final Chapter at Saratoga.
Max Oswald, general manager at Saratoga Brewing Company, said he could not comment on the brewery’s closing. He did say that the post from Braven, one of its contract brewers, was not 100 percent accurate.
Saratoga Brewing Company has not publicly announced that the brewery or taproom is closed on its website or social media pages.
Saratoga Brewing Company’s parent company, the California-based Mendocino Brewing Company, was not reachable for comment.
A California newspaper, The Press Democrat, reported last week that the Mendocino Brewing Co. taproom closed amid financial problems, with no reason provided by company officials.
Braven Brewing Company also did not reply to a request for comment.
Saratoga Brewing Company started making beer in 1997, and grew to offer a large variety of products including unique flavored beers. It also did contract brewing for other companies, and was closely involved in community efforts like the annual Toys For Toga drive.
“I am always sad to see any business close,” said Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly. “I wish the owners well in future endeavors.”
Regular taproom patron Daniel Barusch, a Saratoga Springs resident, said he was surprised and sad to hear that Saratoga Brewing Company is closed, and he will miss it very much.
“I was kind of devastated for a little — the brewery was not only a place for great craft beer in Saratoga, but it had been a part of the east side community and the city community at large for about 20 years now,” he said, mentioning the taproom’s central location, good prices, and laid back atmosphere.
Barusch and his wife would visit the taproom often and the bartenders there would know exactly what they wanted.
“That feeling of being a regular is a good one,” he said. “Whenever I came across some of the Saratoga Brewing Company products elsewhere around the area, I always got their stuff — many of the local bars and restaurants had SBC beer on tap, which was another cool link to the community they had.”
The beer-lover’s favorite Saratoga Brewing Company product was the Peanut Butter and Jelly Oatmeal Stout, he said. “I showed that beer off to all of my friends and family like it was my favorite toy or something.”
Barusch said the thing he will miss most about Saratoga Brewing Company is having a local brewery taproom right in the city of Saratoga Springs, aside from Druthers in the downtown district.
“The jobs lost and the economic benefit lost from this establishment closing will be seen in the coming year, and it is my hope that the brewery building either gets purchased by another brewing company or that Saratoga Brewing Company breaks off from its parent company and can somehow reoccupy the space,” he said.