Nocterra Brewing Co. has closed both of its Central Ohio taprooms, in Powell and in Columbus' Brewery District, leaving the eight-year-old craft brewer's future uncertain. The shutdown came abruptly enough that customers and employees flooded social media with dozens of posts questioning what was happening before the company said anything publicly.
Founders Say They Ran Out of Options
According to The Columbus Dispatch, Nocterra Brewing works to sort things out after Columbus Business First first reported that the brewery had closed both taproom locations. In an official statement, owners Bryan and Lori Duncan and Bruce Vivian said, “Heartbreak doesn't begin to describe it… we promise we exhausted every resource, connection, ability and dollar at our disposal to find a path allowing Nocterra to continue its current structure. Unfortunately we are out of runway to keep fighting.”
The statement came only after social media chatter forced the founders' hand, with customers and employees posting questions about the brewery's future on Sunday before the closure was confirmed. It remains unclear what will happen to Nocterra's leases, equipment, or whether either taproom could reopen under a different operator; those questions have not been resolved publicly.
A Brand Built on Beer and the Outdoors
Nocterra's story began with founders Bryan Duncan, a former intensive care nurse, and Bruce Vivian, a former Mercedes mechanic, who met through homebrewing competitions, according to Ohio Magazine. The pair combined “nocturnal” and “terra” to name their brand, a nod to late-night homebrewing sessions after their kids went to bed and to their shared love of outdoor sports, and they officially launched the business in 2018 alongside marketing manager James Knott. The original Powell taproom opened in February 2019 inside a converted historic train depot at 41 Depot St., complete with a quarter-acre beer garden set against active railroad tracks.
Built around the tagline “Beer + Outside,” Nocterra grew its following with core beers like Beta Flash New England IPA, Trail Break Helles Lager, and California Swell Line Fruited Gose, later expanding into hard seltzers and sours as consumer tastes shifted. That outdoors-first identity carried into the brewery's 2024 expansion, when it opened a 5,000-square-foot taproom and restaurant at 516 Maier Place in Scioto Audubon Metro Park, according to Breakfast With Nick. The Brewery District location featured a full kitchen, mezzanine seating overlooking an adjacent climbing gym, and outdoor patio access.
Community Events Continued Until the End
Just eight days before the shutdown, Nocterra hosted its annual Quitter's Run on August 23 in Powell, a 3.2-mile loop organized with the Columbus Running Company that drew local runners to a course centered on its beer garden, per RunSignup. Finishers were awarded drinks in the taproom, a detail that underscores how active the brewery remained in its community right up until it disappeared from both locations.
Nocterra's closure follows other recent shutdowns among Central Ohio craft breweries. Newark-based Trek Brewing permanently closed on July 12, 2026, after eight years in business, according to 614NOW, part of what the outlet describes as mounting economic pressure on independent craft beverage venues across Delaware and Licking counties.
An Industry Under Pressure
The struggles extend well beyond Central Ohio. An economic impact report commissioned by the Ohio Craft Brewers Association found that Ohio was home to 442 operating craft breweries in 2024, generating $1.29 billion in economic activity and supporting more than 12,000 jobs statewide, Brewer Magazine reported. Yet that overall footprint masks a squeeze on individual taprooms, whose profit margins have narrowed even as the industry's statewide numbers remain sizable.
Nationwide, the picture has worsened. Data published by the Brewers Association shows U.S. craft beer production fell 4% in 2025, with the total number of operating craft breweries dropping 2.9% to 9,578 as 481 closures outpaced just 300 new openings. Axios reported in May 2025 that Central Ohio breweries had already been grappling with three consecutive years of negative production growth, local market saturation, rising raw material costs, and shifting alcohol consumption habits — the same headwinds that ultimately left Nocterra, in its founders' words, out of runway.
