Manufacturing a high-quality beer doesn’t always guarantee success in the craft brewery business.
Award-winning craft beer maker Coldwater Mountain Brewpub LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure its debts and reorganize its business after over four years of operating. The debtor did not give a reason for filing for bankruptcy n its petition.
The Anniston, Ala.-based brewery and restaurant filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama on July 15, listing up to $50,000 in assets and $500,000 to $1 million in debts, according to court documents.
Shutterstock
Brewery has over $700,000 in debts
Coldwater Mountain Brewpub’s largest unsecured creditors include the Internal Revenue Service, owed over $454,000; Alabama Department of Revenue, owed over $228,000; Calhoun County Revenue Commissioner, owed over $11,000; and Chase Bank, owed over $11,000.
No funds will be available to pay unsecured creditors after administrative expenses, according to the petition.
The brewpub continues operating during its bankruptcy case.
Downturn in craft beer industry
The Anniston brewery faced a downturn in the industry prior to its bankruptcy filing.
Craft brewer volume sales declined by 4% in 2025, while retail dollar sales decreased by 2.8% to $28 billion, which accounts for 24.8% of the $113 billion U.S. beer market, the Brewers Association said.
The number of operating craft breweries also declined by 2.9% to 9,578 in 2025, the association said.
Among the headwinds was the rising cost of beer ingredients, which has been a major contributor to economic issues in the industry.
“Raw material costs have emerged as a significant constraint in the North American craft beer market, with substantial increases in the prices of essential ingredients,” according to a 2026 North American Craft Beer Market Report by Mordor Intelligence.
“The impact of these cost increases has been particularly severe on production economics, forcing breweries to revise their pricing strategies and operational models,” the report said.
Coldwater Mountain Brewpub has brewed some notable beers, as it was presented a 95% quality score from the 2025 Quality Business Awards, representing the top 1% of similar businesses in the country.
Brewpub opened in 2022
Owner Jason Wilson, a former CEO of the Back Forty Beer Company, launched the brewery in February 2022 after he was approached in 2021 by the new owner of the historic L&N Freight House building, built in 1885 in downtown Anniston, about opening a new brewpub in the city, according to Coldwater Mountain Brewpub’s website.
Wilson was not immediately available for comment on July 19.
The building’s owner, Earlon McWhorter, discussed possibly opening a Back Forty Beer franchise with Wilson and another partner Tommy Stevens, but the trio decided to open a new brewery unique to Anniston, the website said.
Operating a craft brewery in Alabama has been a challenge for entrepreneurs in recent years because of legal obstacles. In the late 1990s, brewpubs did not exist in Alabama, according to Coldwater Mountain Brewpub’s website.
Strict Alabama beer laws
Beer laws were strict in Alabama in 2008 when Wilson began his efforts to launch Back Forty Beer. Back then, it was illegal in the state to produce or sell a beer that exceeded 6% alcohol by volume, which would eliminate a lot of craft beer styles.
It was also illegal to operate a tasting room at the brewery or sell beer directly to the public, according to Back Forty Beer’s website. The brewery persevered and launched its first beer, Naked Pig Ale, in June 2009, brewed through a contract brewer in Mississippi and a second beer, Truck Stop Honey Brown Ale in March 2010.
Back Forty Beer began producing beer at its Gadsden, Ala., brewery in 2012.
Wilson left Back Forty Beer in April 2021, according to The Gadsden Times. Later that year, he established Coldwater Mountain Brewpub.
Related: Owner of five cosmetics brands files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
