USA, TX: Battlehops Brewing to close its doors for good on November 20

Battlehops Brewing, one of Katy’s most popular beer destinations, will be closing its doors for good Nov. 20. In addition to hand crafted beers, the brewery is known for having more than 400 board games in its tasting room, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Owners Jessica and J.D. Merritt stated that they’re closing the brewery because it had become more work than they could handle, and they wanted to spend more time as a family.

“It’s a huge responsibility that we can't really handle anymore because it’s a lot of work and it takes up a lot of brain space and a lot of time,” Jessica said. “We just had to let it go because we can't justify all the work that goes into it anymore.”

The Merritts opened Battlehops in 2019. The brewery struggled during the pandemic, Jessica said, but it eventually recovered. While the pandemic didn’t directly impact the decision to close Battlehops, labor shortages following lock down contributed to the brewery’s struggles.

“The economy and COVID were things that caused struggles for all small businesses, and they were definitely a factor for us,” Jessica said. “If we’d been able to hire more help, we would have been able to have the time we needed to run the brewery and do other things with our lives.”

The brewery is for sale, Jessica added, and there are already multiple parties interested in purchasing it.

“We would love to see Battlehops continue under new ownership because it's a great resource for the community,” Jessica said. “We personally would really enjoy visiting and having a beer there when we’re not working there.”

As longtime Katy residents, the Merritts will still be involved in the area, Jessica said.

“We really appreciate all the support we got from the Katy community,” she said. “It's been really fun sharing board games and beer and burgers, and we’ll still be around, but this time we’ll be on the other side of the bar.”

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