What to Know Pennsylvania's Stoudts Brewing Co., a pioneer in the craft brewery explosion, will be producing its final beers this spring.

The closure comes as brewmaster Carol Stoudt plans to retire.

Stoudt left the door open to keep the brewery's name alive. "We’re not closing the doors to any business opportunities that could help the Stoudts brand live on," she said.

Stoudts Brewing Co., the 33-year-old Adamstown brewery that was a pioneer in the explosion of craft beer, will cease operations by early spring.

The closure comes as brewmaster Carol Stoudt plans to retire. Stoudt started the brewery in 1987 after adding a 30-barrel brewhouse to an existing 70,000-square-foot Antiques Mall, restaurant and beer garden along North Reading Road. An on-premise bakery and cheesemaking facility later followed. Operations will continue at the other Stoudt entities.

Stoudt, who became the first female brewmaster since Prohibition, said the decision to end beer making "was a difficult decision to make but we’re not moving enough volume to justify the expense of keeping the brewery open."

In a statement on Monday, she didn't rule out a possible deal to keep the brewery's name going.

"We’re not closing the doors to any business opportunities that could help the Stoudts brand live on," Stoudt said.

PBJ.com has a look at Stoudts Brewing's role in beer making in Pennsylvania, click here.

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