USA, TX: Bearded Fox Brewing Co. announces final closure

After years of a push-and-pull battle to remain open, a Tomball brewery is calling it quits. Bearded Fox Brewing Co. announced it would finally close despite previous vows to re-open on social media, Chron reported on March 14.

Thursday, owner Joshua Govea took to Instagram to break the bad news to fans of the 11729 Spring Cypress Rd. brewery "It comes with great disappointment to announce that we will not be re-opening at the old location or any time soon," Govea wrote. He did say there were plans to rebuild the brewery in the future.

Bearded Fox began as a home brew project, then grew into a craft micro-brewery. According to the Houston Beer Guide blog, the brewery opened its brick-and-mortar location in February 2017. Five years later, the brewery announced it would be closing on April 10, calling the decision "difficult" but "necessary".

But in a last-minute save, investor Arif Manji purchased Bearded Fox the day before it was supposed to close. According to the brewery, Manji was inspired to invest after seeing comments from disappointed fans.

In June 2024, Bearded Fox announced it would be temporarily closing due to maintenance. The brewery later said it would be moving from its Spring Cypress Road location and would reveal more when the details were finalized.

But on Dec. 25, 2024, Bearded Fox said it would be staying put at its Spring Cypress Road location and promised to "re-re-open" in February 2025. It didn't happen.

Fans of Bearded Fox, including those who stuck by the brewery through each of its iterations, were shocked at the closure.

"I'm so very saddened to hear this," read one comment.

"Sorry for your loss. I was really hoping you were gonna succeed," read another.

Bearded Fox isn't the only beloved brewery to close in recent years. In 2024, Houston saw the loss of Urban South Brewery, Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company, Ingenious Brewing Co. and Twisted Acre Brewery, amongst others. Several challenges have affected local brewers, including rising costs, tariffs on barley crops and changing drinking habits.

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