A certain surprise Instagram post from the weekend got us thinking about one of those almost-impossible-to-definitively-answer questions.

Are all these brewery owner retirement announcements just random, or this is a new trend?

The latest was that aforementioned post by Sidetrack owners Dan Herr and Anne O’Neill, who are stepping back and handing the reins to Zendo owner Pilar Westell in the near future (they did not technically use the R-word, but it was pretty heavily implied). We will be sitting down with them in the near future to go more in-depth on this big move, but it still came soon after a few other retirement announcements in the industry.

The 377 Brewery is up for sale, as we noted last week, and the current owners’ reasoning is that they want to retire. Enchanted Circle Brewing closed their doors in Angel Fire last year, with the owners likewise saying retirement was the goal, and that came up again when they finally sold the business and property to the owners of Santa Fe’s Nuckolls Brewing.

Now, do three instances really count as a trend? Well, probably not, but in the current economic climate, it is not all that shocking that some people would rather just retire than keep fighting against the financial headwinds.

The hope is certainly that someone else will come along to buy the brewery, like they have for Sidetrack and Enchanted Circle, and keep things going. There is no guarantee, however. The economy is tough right now, and New Mexico is not exactly replete with wealthy people who have money to spend, even in good times.

We are, though, starting to get to a point where many breweries that started over the last 20-plus years have owners nearing what is generally considered retirement age. A few may have planned to hang on a little longer, but the economy may be convincing them to move along sooner. Not every brewery has what one might call a succession plan in place, where perhaps an adult child/children of the current owner is planning on taking over some day.

In truth, there is nothing that we can do about the inexorable march of time. My beard is a lot grayer now than that photo used in The Week Ahead in Beer, for instance. All we can really do is enjoy the people, and beers, that we have right now. It’s National Beer Day, after all, so while this might not be the super-happy, positive story that we might usually do on such a day, we gotta keep it real about some things.

A trend? Probably not. But something worth monitoring over the next few years? Definitely.

Until then, we raise our glasses in thanks to the generation that brought us so many wonderful breweries. You’re up next, Millennials! You’ve been saving money, right? Right? Ah, poop.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister