In a surprise move, Oskar Blues has closed its Austin location. Per a former employee, all employees were laid off this morning and the Metric location is closed as of today. Further, the social media accounts and the Austin location on the website have all been removed.
Austin has seen a rash of brewery closures over the past few months and the North Austin Brewery District has been hit the hardest with the closure of 4th Tap Brewing Co-op (July 2022), Adelbert’s Brewery (October 2022), and most recently Circle Brewing Co. (September 2023).
No reason was given for the closure.
Oskar Blues expanded to Austin in 2016 into a 50,000-square-foot space with 7,000 square feet of taproom and entertainment space. Although not an Austin original, Oskar Blues participated in several charity and community-based events like Barks for Beers over the years. In 2022, Monster Beverage Corporation announced the acquisition of CANarchy Collective, the parent company of Oskar Blues Brewery in an all-cash deal.
There is a lot of speculation swirling around the reason for the closure. This article will be updated as we receive more information.
