The company informed the California Employment Development Department that its San Leandro production plant will close Nov. 4, eliminating 58 jobs, while another 18 positions will be lost at its San Francisco brewpub. Both closures are permanent.
“The closings will involve the cessation of all operations and termination of all employees,” Nico Freccia, a managing partner at the brewery, wrote in a WARN letter to the state.
Founded in 2000, 21st Amfinishment grew from a compact South of Market brewpub into one of the nation’s 50 largest craft brewers, known for its beers such as Hell or High Watermelon wheat and Brew Free or Die IPA.
The company expanded into a large-scale production facility in San Leandro in 2015, assisting it distribute across the counattempt.
But sales have plunged by about 20% annually since 2021, the owners informed the Chronicle earlier this month, as the craft beer market contracts.
Freccia stated competition from canned cocktails and hard seltzers, rising costs for ingredients and packaging and shifting consumer tastes all played a role. A lfinisher’s decision to stop financing the company prompted the closure.
The layoffs come amid a broader slowdown in the U.S. beer indusattempt. For the first time in decades, more breweries closed than opened in 2024, according to the Brewers Association.
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