Economic stresses impacting the craft beer industry emerged on Long Island at the end of 2025 with several breweries announcing closings or decisions to sell, including popular mainstays of the craft beer scene such as Riverhead’s Long Ireland Beer Co., Port Jeff Brewing, Farmingdale’s Lithology Brewing and Bay Shore’s DUBCO.
At the same time, there was positive news in 2025 as several breweries expanded with new locations and two new breweries opened. Long Island’s numbers tracked with nationwide trends, as the Brewers Association reported 268 new brewery openings and 434 closings across the U.S.
Matt Gacioch, staff economist at the Brewers Association, said the market is adjusting to “changing consumer behaviors, retailer rationalization, cost increases due to inflation and tariffs, and more competition than ever.” Nationwide craft beer volume was forecast to decline 5% in 2025 as consumers overall drink less alcohol and younger consumers shift to cocktails, hard seltzers and THC-infused drinks.
Here on Long Island, the challenges also included rising overhead costs such as rent and labor. For some long-time brewery founders, the challenges became too steep to overcome. Manny Coelho, co-founder and brewmaster of Lithology Brewing, said, “we saw customer behavior change after Covid, with people only going out one night of the weekend instead of two.”
Lithology was one of the success stories of the Taste of Long Island incubator that also helped launch Po’ Boy Brewery and 1940s Brewing. They took over the incubator’s space on Farmingdale’s Main Street in 2016 and continued to host tenant brewers including Jones Beach Brewing, which opened its first taproom in Point Lookout in March 2025.
Coelho said Lithology’s taproom is closing on Feb. 7, but the brewery is working on plans to partner with Jones Beach to distribute some of Lithology’s best-selling brews, which would be contract brewed. “We’re sad to see our taproom close but excited to explore a different business model,” said Coelho. He said Lithology’s taproom will run All-Star events in January, bringing back favorites from over the years.
Long Ireland was founded by Dan Burke and Greg Martin in 2009 and became Riverhead’s first craft brewery in 2011, developing a passionate following of ‘Hooligans’ with fun events, festivals, a lively taproom and delicious Irish-style ales, brewed in recent years by Kevin Leonard. The brewery was set to close on New Year’s Eve and general manager Sheila Malone promised that “we plan to go out partying as only Long Ireland can.”
Port Jeff Brewing was Port Jefferson’s first craft brewery when it was opened by Mike Philbrick in 2011. A final concert with local bands was held on Dec. 27 and Philbrick brewed his last batch of Port Jeff’s most award-winning beer, Trippel H Belgian-style Tripel, in mid-December and canned it for one last case sale.
Destination Unknown Brewing Co., better known as DUBCO, opened in 2015 in Bay Shore. In 2022, co-founder and sole owner Chris Candiano opened a second taproom on a 50-acre farm in the Hudson Valley and had ambitious plans to move the brewery to the second location while still maintaining a presence in Bay Shore. Ultimately the plans proved unworkable and both the farm and Bay Shore brewery are now up for sale.
DUBCO hopes that another brewery will take over their location, which happened at 3 other locations on Long Island this year. Jamesport Farm Brewery was bought by Manorville’s Long Island Farm Brewery, which continues to operate the facility under the Jamesport name.
The new Moonfish Brewery took over the riverfront brewery in October that was Riverhead Brew House and previously Peconic County Brewing. Brewer Robert Kurtz and his wife Skye partnered with her father, retired physician Dr. Richard Hamburg, to buy the brewery from the Lily Flanagan Restaurant Group and also took over the restaurant, where they have kept the staff and menu with upscale pub food.
Rites Brewing Co. opened in Bay Shore in the space formerly occupied by TBC Beer Company. Co-owner and head brewer Tim Dougherty partnered with his uncle Tim Irwin, a retired Wall Street trader, to refresh the taproom and invest in a new brewing system focused on ancient brewing techniques using open fermentation.
Other positive developments in 2025 included a second taproom opened by Barrier Brewing in Long Beach, a second location for Westhampton Beach Brewing in Manorville that includes a full restaurant, the launch of Stone Goat Restaurant & Brewery in St. James. In Spring 2026, Somerset Brewing in West Hempstead plans to open a larger brewery, taproom and full restaurant.
While the consensus outlook for the craft beer industry nationwide is for continued slow declines, Long Island remains vibrant with over 50 breweries spread out across the Island and embedded in their communities. “There’s a lot of great beer being made on Long Island,” said Coelho, who is active in the Long Island Brewers Guild, “so keep on seeking it out and support local.”
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher of LIBeerGuide.com, the definitive online guide to finding craft breweries on Long Island.
