Steam Bell Beer Works closed last week in Chesterfield. (BizSense file photo)
A recently shuttered Chesterfield brewery is looking to liquidate its assets via bankruptcy.
Steam Bell Beer Works filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last week in the Eastern District of Virginia, court records show.
The filing came just days after Steam Bell ceased operations after over nine years in business at 1717 E. Oak Lake Blvd.
In the bankruptcy filing, Steam Bell owner Brad Cooper claims the business has $403,000 in assets and $824,000 in liabilities owed to 20 creditors. Steam Bell is seeking Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, which indicates the business’s remaining assets would be liquidated and sold off to repay creditors at least a portion of what they’re owed.
The brewery’s assets include seven brewing tanks, a canning line, 10,000 aluminum cans and a food trailer. Steam Bell’s largest debt is $720,000 owed to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Steam Bell is being represented in its bankruptcy case by attorney Chris Winslow of Winslow, McCurry & MacCormac. Winslow is also a former Chesterfield County supervisor.
Cooper opened Steam Bell in 2015, making it one of the first breweries in Chesterfield during the region’s beer boom. In 2017 he opened a second brewery, Canon & Draw Brewing Co. in the Fan, but closed that in 2022 after it struggled to get back to its pre-pandemic form.
Cooper said last week it has been an emotional few days as he tries to process the closure of Steam Bell.
Brad Cooper
“We’ve had a rough go at it the past couple years, and I just kind of need a break from it,” he said.
He said it’s his understanding that 2023 was among the worst years in decades for the craft beer industry at a national level, and that inflation and changing consumer trends might be driving some of the beer world’s struggles.
“In the grocery stores there used to be this very long aisle of all these different craft beers, and that’s shrunk in just about every single chain that we’ve seen,” he said. “The industry’s being hurt hard.”
Cooper, who met his wife through the beer business, said he doesn’t know what’s next for him but he may look to stay in the industry.
“It’s something that we’re definitely very passionate about. I think we’d probably do something in the future. I don’t know what that is yet,” he said.
In the meantime, he may get back into an old hobby.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve home brewed, and one of the things I’m bringing home from the brewery is my old home brewery setup,” Cooper said. “So I might try to home brew one of these days.”
Steam Bell is the second brewery to close in the region in 2024. In February, Basic City Beer Co.’s Manchester outpost sold to a group led by a longtime employee who has kept the business open as a restaurant, but not a brewery.
Doesn’t Mr Cooper still own a stake in Hidden Wit?