Spencerport's Brindle Haus Brewing announces closure

The dog-friendliest brewery in the region opened its doors in late 2017.

This stuff never gets easier and I always loathe being the person to break the bad news. But in the current craft beer climate, it has become a fact of life.

Another beloved craft brewery is closing its doors. Spencerport-based Brindle Haus Brewing, which opened in November 2017, announced it would close for good Sunday. according to a post on its social media pages.

“We’ve made the decision to sell the brewery assets (more to follow) - a move that reflects where life has taken us. As many of you know, John and Kristine moved to North Carolina a few years ago, and with their kids growing up fast and becoming more involved in sports and school, they simply haven’t had the time to give the brewery the daily attention it deserves,” the Boothes, the couple who opened the brewery, shared.

The statement continued, “Running Brindle Haus has been one of the most rewarding adventures of our lives. From the very first pour to the last cheers, we’ve been honored to be part of your lives—celebrating birthdays, engagements, weddings, and everything in between.

“To all of our Pack Members, loyal customers, staff, and the local community: thank you. You’ve supported us through thick and thin, and we are forever grateful for the memories and the friendships made along the way.”

Brindle Haus, which features a 10-barrel brewhouse and a prime spot on South Union Street in Spencerport, quickly became one of the best breweries in Monroe County. Along with Stoneyard in Brockport, Brindle Haus became the standard-bearer on the west side. And sadly, the west side is a little bit poorer right now. My hope is that something equally comfortable and homey will take Brindle Haus’ place. Fingers crossed.

John caught the homebrewing bug bad. He even moved his family to a farm in Spencerport with a 3,000-square-foot barn where he could house his burgeoning brewing operations. “This was always my plan,” John told me in a 2017 D&C interview. “I was going to do this when I retired. But then this whole boom happened. We were going to put this stake in the ground in Spencerport, in the village, before anyone else did.” And so they did. What he hoped would become a retirement gig became a second nearly full-time job for the couple. The Boothes’ long-time friends, Tom and Sarah DiPietro, joined in on the adventure. And a new community gathering spot quickly took shape in the former doctor’s office space.

“This place has been our blood, sweat, and tears for the past eight months,” Kristine said, revealing a scar on her forearm from all the hard work. This is what she told me eight years ago and it holds true now. She continued, “When we moved in, it was drop ceilings and a bunch of 10-by-10 offices with nasty carpet and linoleum. We tore all of that out.”

And after ripping out all that dated nastiness, they had an ideal 4,000-square-foot canvas for a brewery, a place to make their dream become a reality.

I talked to the owners a few months and we touched on the realities of the industry. In this case, the brewery wasn't struggling. Just the opposite, in fact. Brindle Haus was doing well. They moved to North Carolina a few years back and tried to run the brewery from afar. But we know that running a brewery is a hands-on, community-centered activity. You have to be all in. And the Boothes were all in for as long as they could be.

So after searching for a buyer (hopefully more on that soon), they decided to close up shop later this week. Brindle Haus was a special place. It featured the best cheese balls in town and was certainly the most dog-friendly brewery in the region. You couldn’t go in there and not run into an adorable pooch or three.

One of my all-time favorite beer stories came just at the start of the pandemic when Brindle Haus released 10 or 12 different labels with the cute countenances of adoptable pups. It was a way for the Boothes and Brindle Haus to give back to the community and also a way for them to spread their passion for two things — craft beer and dogs.

The Rochester beer community is a little poorer with this latest announcement. But don’t fret. Maybe something new is on the horizon (fingers crossed, wink wink, maybe). I’m gonna miss that and I know the Spencerport community will, too.

In the interim, I reached out to the Brindle Haus owners again this afternoon and hope to publish something later tonight or tomorrow with some more detail about this latest closure. But more than anything, I wanna give them the chance to talk about how great this community is and how much they enjoyed being a small piece of this wonderful beer scene.

When I know more, I’ll share more.