Brett Keating
April 15, 2022
After nearly four years brewing in Long Beach, Bixby Knolls-based Liberation Brewing is shutting down, its owners announced this week.
The brewery, co-owned by former Reel Big Fish trombonist Dan Regan, opened in April 2018 and was coming up on its fourth anniversary when they made their announcement on Instagram.
Liberation’s Soviet Propaganda-themed taproom was a local gathering spot, hosting weekly vinyl nights, trivia nights, and frequent charity events. Plus, with Smog City’s Steelcraft location and Ambitious Ales both nearby, this section of northern Long Beach was becoming a destination for craft beer drinkers.
After an up and down start, Liberation had its first profitable month near the end of 2019, according to the Long Beach Post, and was just starting to hit its stride when the pandemic hit in March 2020. As with all breweries, the impact of the virus fully upended their operations. Ultimately, they said, the financial effects of the pandemic were “significant” and impacted their ability to negotiate their lease.
They are the latest in a string of breweries and bottle shops in LA to close in the last two months. Sunset Beer, a staple of the Eastside beer scene, just announced they will be shuttering after more than ten years in Echo Park. And within a few days in February, both Boyle Heights’ Indie Brewing and four of Modern Times’ eight locations – including their Downtown LA one – closed down.
Though Liberation stopped their brewing operation two weeks ago, they’ll stay open through April 30th, with plenty of beer on tap and, they say, “deals deals deals!”.
