Astronomy Aleworks Is Closing — And More Las Vegas Beer Scene Shake-Ups

Astronomy Aleworks. | Astronomy Aleworks/Facebook Two breweries are closing this year, and an old stand-by is under new ownership On March 9, the Astronomy Aleworks brewery in Henderson will close its doors for the last time. It will be the third brewery to close in 2024 — though one is already working on reopening in a new location. The shake-ups are primarily affecting the Boooze District in Henderson and an area of downtown that is coming to be known as Brewery Row. In total, six breweries have opened, closed, or made big changes in the past month or two. “We ran out of money,” Astronomy Aleworks founder and brewer Matt Brady tells Eater Vegas. “Our cost of goods has increased sharply since 2021. And our rent went up 60 percent this year.” Brady opened the family-owned taproom in October 2017 in Hederson’s Booze District — a shopping center near Warm Springs and Gibson Roads that had been home to Las Vegas Distillery, Crafthaus Brewery, Vegas Valley Winery, Grape Expectations winemakers, Astronomy Aleworks, and Bad Beat Brewing. Brady says a confluence of factors led to Astronomy making the final call to close. He cites a changing beer scene, in which he finds that customers are less interested in taprooms, preferring an experience and a place with food. (“We were trying to open a second location, a place with a kitchen,” he says.) And he says that breweries are not insulated from the same price increases that are affecting businesses across the food and beverage industries. Customers are less likely to want to pay $12 for pours they were buying for $7 or $8 a year before, Brady says. He has also seen consumer habits change in a post-COVID drinking scene — more of his customers want to buy canned beer than visit a taproom. Cans, which had previously functioned for Astronomy as advertising to get people into the building, have thin margins. Where a keg poured at the bar can earn Brady double its cost, the canned four-pack might earn the taproom just 50 cents or a dollar in profit. The 60 percent rent increase was ultimately Astronomy’s final straw. Astronomy Aleworks Astronomy Aleworks. Other brewery shake-ups have begun to impact the shape of Vegas’s local beer scene. Trustworthy Brewing Co. opened in the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Palazzo in 2019 as the only functioning brewery on the Strip. It closed its doors with little fanfare in early February. Beer Zombies, the decade-old Vegas brewery recently acquired the Tenaya Creek Brewery in central Las Vegas — a local’s bar that serves up award-winning beers and is known for its desert animals label art — for more than 20 years. It still operates under the name Tenaya Creek Brewery. Louiie Victa Trustworthy Brewing Co. Bad Beat Brewing, which had been at 7380 Eastgate Road in Henderson’s Booze District since 2014, closed on February 18, with plans already underway to reopen at 142 South Main Street in the Las Vegas Arts District, where it may benefit from the higher volume of foot traffic. In recent years, the downtown area has earned the nickname Brewery Row for its growing slate of craft beer bars. Neon Desert Brewing, which closed its Arts District taproom in April of last year — took over Bad Beat’s former space on Thursday, February 22. Voodoo Brewing Co., based in Pennsylvania, opened a Las Vegas location in early January. It’s located in the Gateway District downtown, tucked behind Liquid Diet. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bad Beat Brewing (@badbeatbrewing) Astronomy Aleworks is still tapping kegs, partnering with food trucks, and hosting trivia nights through March 9. Brady says he may throw a final goodbye party with the rest of the booze district sometime after. “It’s important to keep supporting the other breweries in town,” says Brady. “Going to taprooms is key. Rent prices are ridiculous. It’s not too late to support everyone else.”