This year marked one of the most explosive in terms of craft brewing in North Texas, with more than 10 new microbreweries coming to the area. But not every story had a happy ending.

Monday, Fort Worth's Bearded Eel Craft Brewery announced it will be closing its doors permanently on Dec. 31.

Bearded Eel opened in 2014 as a nanobrewery with a 1.5-barrel system made for small batch releases. In a post on Facebook, brewery owners B.J. and Becky Burnett attributed the closure to the daily stress of running the business.

"For two and a half years we have worked tirelessly, and given this endeavor everything we have mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially, and what has become clear is that we can no longer sustain the daily toll it is taking," the status reads.

Bearded Eel is the second operation to cease production this year. In November, FireWheel Brewing Co. in Rowlett shuttered for undisclosed reasons.

With the number of craft breweries approaching historical highs, many have questioned the existence of a craft beer bubble, but industry vets say there is plenty room to grow. Though market saturation has never been higher locally, Texas has only 0.6 breweries per 100,000 adults ages 21-and-up, placing it 44th out the 50 states, according to the Brewers Association. (States such as Oregon and Vermont have more than seven breweries per captia.)

The Burnetts plan to "move onto new things," according to the brewery's Facebook update, but the couple will also soon make all of Bearded Eel's recipes available online for local homebrewers.