USA, CA: Mill Valley Beerworks closes down permanently

Mill Valley Beerworks, where Fort Point Beer Company’s brewery empire got its start in 2009, has closed permanently, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on July 16.

“We are sad to say that we won’t be re-opening, but it’s hard to argue that 11 years isn’t a good run,” the owners wrote on Instagram on July 15.

Fort Point founders and brothers Justin and Tyler Catalana could not be immediately reached for comment, and the social media post didn’t say why they decided to close the Mill Valley beer bar and restaurant.

The Catlana brothers opened Mill Valley Beerworks on Throckmorton Avenue in 2009, crowdfunding to cover the costs and their family chipping in to build the space. They later added a kitchen to the small brewery. Mill Valley Beerworks became a neighborhood go-to for beer and a full-fledged food menu with inventive vegetables that earned two-and-a-half stars from former Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer in 2016. Mill Valley Beerworks remained closed throughout the pandemic.

Fort Point has gone on to become one of the Bay Area’s most prominent and popular craft breweries. The Catalanas now run four taprooms in San Francisco and Oakland and a brewery in the Presidio. Only the Lower Haight taproom is currently open, but the rest will return at an undetermined date, according to Fort Point.

“Beerworks will always be special to us — it’s where we gathered with our families, found our friends and partners, learned to brew great beer, and became a true part of SF’s food and beverage community,” the owners wrote on Instagram.

In a 2020 interview, the Catalanas told The Chronicle that they “set out to create the next Anchor. The next San Francisco brewery.” They set an ambitious goal of producing 100,000 barrels of beer annually by 2025.

18 July, 2021