USA, TX: 4J Brewing announces permanent closure

4J Brewing, an all-female-owned brewery in the Spring Branch neighborhood of Houston, announced on February 1 that it had permanently closed. “We are retiring!” read the Facebook post, which also thanked customers for their patronage over a nearly six-year run, Chron reported.

The 4Js in the name are sisters Jackie, Jessica, Joanna and Jennifer Edwards. Their father Larry was a longtime homebrewer who got his daughters into the habit. When Jennifer was laid off, she announced her intentions to start her own brewery at the Spring Branch lot her family owned.

In 2018, her dream became a reality when 4J opened. Jennifer and her mother Marilyn launched the brewery.

Unlike most breweries with aims of mass distribution and constantly shifting taps, 4J was a refreshing alternative, offering a smaller selection of beers with a core four that remained the same: an amber, a blonde, an IPA and a stout. Bonus: The core-four beers were all easy drinking everyday options.

Because of its no-fuss beer, its homey and rustic indoor-outdoor digs and its family first vibe, 4J felt more like a neighbor’s backyard barbecue. For Spring Branch drinkers and plenty of Houston beer lovers, that made 4J a popular spot.

4J’s closing is the most recent in a spat of them over the last several months. Ingenious Brewing in Humble shuttered in early January, and in 2023, Cypress’ Twisted Acre, Northside’s Black Page Brewing Co. and Bellaire’s CounterCommon Beerworks & Kitchen all closed.

Meanwhile, last week, Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co. was kicked out of its Sawyer Yards facility by its landlord. The longtime Houston brewery hopes to continue operations but remains in limbo.

06 February, 2024