Buzz kill: US breweries shutter as craft-beer fanfare fades

Chris Bell began brewing as a student at the University of Colorado Boulder, worked at Long Trail and Avery, and opened Call to Arms Brewing Company in Denver in 2015. The brewery earned a gold medal at the 2018 World Beer Cup and drew strong local praise and a 4.7 Google rating from more than 400 reviews.

After its best year in 2019, Covid-19 hit: sales fell, costs rose, and people spent more time at home consuming less alcohol. In December 2025 Bell and a co‑owner closed the business. "It was heartbreaking," Bell said. "I put my entire career into it." Call to Arms was one of 100 breweries to close in the state over the last two years, the Colorado Brewers Guild says, part of a wider national contraction as the earlier craft‑beer buzz fades.

The industry’s rise was rapid: about 500 microbreweries in 2009 grew to 4,500 in 2018.

United States, Denver, Colorado

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