SALT LAKE CITY — Wasatch and Squatters Beers announced on social media that they will not be renewing their Salt Lake City Brewery lease and will close their doors on May 23.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that the production of their beers will move to other breweries in the Monster network as of May 27. The Tribune obtained a statement from the president of Monster Brewing, which said 25 people will lose their jobs.
Many local breweries said they’re sad to see them leave.
“Whether it’s Utah-owned, it’s always been a Utah company that started here and was founded here. The people who make the beer are employed here and from here, so it’s always been a part of the community,” said Cody McKendrick, the owner of Bewilder Brewing Company.
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JC Straub, the operations manager at Salt Flats Brewery, agreed.
“As a smaller and newer brewer in the industry, we need those larger guys to kind of benchmark ourselves,” Straub said. “We look at their quality control, their operations, and different stuff, and we use that to continue to drive our own growth and competition.”
Both Bewilder Brewing Company and Salt Flats Brewery said Squatters and Wasatch Brewery laid the groundwork for the industry in the state.
“All the Utah breweries are standing on the shoulders of Squatters and Wasatch in many ways because they were the ones who laid the foundation, and they were the ones who built the demand and the market here in Utah,” McKendrick said.
The Utah Brewers Guild said their history goes back decades.
“As far as who has lasted until now, they have been around, I believe, longer than anyone else who’s been in business,” said Stephanie Biesecker, the executive director of the Utah Brewers Guild. "They’ve been a staple of the community."
Although Wasatch and Squatters beer is going to be brewed elsewhere, local breweries say their history will continue to flow through their bottles and cans.
“The Utah beer community is really tight-knit,” McKendrick said. “I think that’s common all over the country, but especially common in Utah because there’s just not as many of us. Utah and Salt Lake City has always been a bit of a counter-culture scene, and I think because of that, we take pride in doing things our way.”
