A brewery has been forced to shut its doors for the final time - citing skyrocketing energy costs amongst the reasons. Pitchfork Ales at Hewish, near Weston, which was born out of the RCH Brewery that previously operated on the same site, announced the closure on social media.
The brewery closed on Tuesday (February 28). And now the company has been put into voluntary liquidation, reports Somerset Live.
A spokesman for the brewery said: “We’re truly gutted to have to announce this – as of last night, Tuesday 28th February 2023, we closed the doors to our brewery for the final time.
READ MORE: Bristol's Assembly Bakery thanks community after shock closure announcement
"After nearly six years of brewing some of the highest quality cask ales, a combination of factors such as skyrocketing energy and raw ingredient costs, lower volumes in pubs and unsustainable, market decimating pricing practices by our competitors mean we have had to put the company into voluntary liquidation.
“We did some awesome stuff with you, made fantastic beer and had an amazing time along the way. World firsts, innovative thinking, utterly delicious beers, massive fun parties and a positive attitude got us through previous tough times and although we like to think of ourselves as 'beer super heroes', we’re not immortal.
“A process of liquidating stock will take place between now and 17th March, with casks going to pubs for the final time and all cans and bottles being sold via BeerDriveThru.com. To all of you that have ever enjoyed any of our beers and to our amazing team who have worked so hard – THANK YOU – it’s truly been an honour sharing a pint and working with you.
“Go well fellow beer lovers, may your glass be always full of good beer.”
The news comes as an Italian restaurant boss voiced his fears that he'll go out of business soon due to the country's current vegetable shortage and soaring pasta prices, which have seen his costs rise by up to 80%.
Carmine Montuori, 52, moved to Bristol from Italy nine years ago - and runs Taste of Napoli, in the heart of Bristol's shopping quarter. He says the family-run business is at risk of going under in as little as three months because of vegetable shortages, blamed on weather in Europe and Africa.
And a series of bakeries have announced their closure across Bristol throughout February, including the Assembly Room's venue and Cottage Bakery.
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