After 31 years of pouring pints in West Sedona, Oak Creek Brewery closed its doors for good on Saturday, Nov. 7. The brewery, which opened back in June 1995, had grown into one of Arizona's oldest craft breweries before shutting down, and it marked the end with a farewell gathering the very next day.
The closure was reported by Mouth by Southwest, which noted that Oak Creek Brewery had operated for more than three decades before calling it quits. In a social media announcement, the brewery thanked locals, Mug Club members, musicians, friends and family, according to the outlet's reporting. The Sunday farewell gathering gave regulars a chance to raise a glass at the West Sedona spot after it had closed for good.
Importantly, the closure does not affect every Oak Creek-branded brewery in town. Oak Creek Brewery & Grill, located in the Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, is a separate brewpub and remains open, per the same report. That Tlaquepaque location identifies the shuttered West Sedona operation as its sister company, Oak Creek Brewing Co., according to its own FAQ page, and says it brews its own beer on site.
A Tough Stretch for Craft Beer Nationwide
The West Sedona closure lands amid a broader slump for American craft brewing. U.S. craft beer production fell 4% in 2025 to 22,034,000 barrels, and the number of operating U.S. craft breweries dropped 2.9% to 9,578, according to the Brewers Association. Openings and closures both slowed last year too, with 300 new breweries launching against 481 that shut down, down from 518 openings and 591 closures the year before, the trade group reported. Notably, the association found that hospitality-driven models like brewpubs and taprooms held up comparatively well.
That national pattern isn't new. Industry production hit 23.1 million barrels in 2024, a 4% decline from the prior year, marking the sector's third straight year of negative growth, as reported by Axios Phoenix. The outlet also found that the number of small, independent U.S. breweries fell for the first time in 20 years, with 501 closures outpacing 434 openings. Arizona Craft Brewers Guild executive director Andrew Bauman told Axios that the industry has been battling a barrage of external market forces since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not an Isolated Case in Arizona
Oak Creek isn't the only Arizona brewery saying goodbye this month. In Tucson, Brick Box Brewery — formerly known as Thunder Canyon Brewery, with a history stretching back nearly 30 years — announced it will permanently close on Nov. 29, according to KOLD. Co-owner James Owens told the station that the brewery's electricity bill alone can reach $9,000 a month, even during slower stretches. KOLD described Brick Box as both a brewery and a gathering place for Tucson's local music community.
Meanwhile, the Tlaquepaque brewpub sharing the Oak Creek name has had a very different year. Back in July, AZFamily reported that Oak Creek Brewery and Grill was celebrating 25 years in Sedona — a milestone for the separate brewpub that continues operating even as its West Sedona counterpart has now closed. The exact reasons behind the West Sedona brewery's closure have not been disclosed.
