Astoria Brewing’s downtown taproom has closed – at least for a while.
The owners of the city’s oldest craft brewery were circumspect about the surprise move on Sept. 5.
Matt McClure, who manages Astoria Brewing’s popular 11th Street brewpub and is one of the owners, said the day after the closure that the decision wasn’t financial in nature.
“It’s not cost-related,” he said, declining to elaborate.
McClure said the brewery itself is not affected, nor is The Chart Room, the company-owned bar located next door.
The 12th Street taproom wraps around the basement housing the brewhouse. The long-ignored space reopened a few years ago, offering a number of guest beer taps in addition to Astoria Brewing favorites.
Other perks of the taproom were its partial river views and $5 craft beers – one of the best prices in town.
Head brewer Andrew Brown declined to comment on the developments.
The manager of the taproom no longer works for Astoria Brewing.
McClure said his phone “blew up” with concerned people asking questions within hours of the closure.
While a reversal of the decision isn’t likely anytime soon now that peak tourist season is over, he hopes to reopen the taproom one day.
“It may not be permanent,” he said. “We had to do it in the meantime.”
