Spec’s Tweets That Grapevine Craft Brewery Closed, Except It Didn’t

You don’t tend to think of your neighborhood liquor store as a source of solid news reporting, but Spec’s entered into the journalistic fray (sort of) when it "reported" that Grapevine Craft Brewery had closed its doors.

Except, that’s not really what happened. In response to the tweet, Grapevine Craft Brewery issued a release announcing that it will no longer distribute its beers to retailers (like, ahem, Spec’s). The brewing operation and adjacent taproom, however, will remain open.

The tweet from Spec’s didn’t exactly sit well with local beer enthusiasts, which prompted the booze chain to issue a half-ass apology:

Sounds like @grapevineontap not closing, simply changing go to market strategy. Good news after all! Hate to see their beers leave shelves

— Spec's Beer Dept (@Specs_Beer_Dept) August 17, 2016

Judging by the tweet’s replies, there is at least some demand for Grapevine brews in a retail setting. But according to CultureMap Fort Worth, distributing beer just wasn’t profitable. "This was a hard decision, and one that was not made lightly. We value our customers and our fans," GCB founder Gary Humble told CultureMap. "But at this time, it just doesn't make financial sense for us to continue distributing our brands at a loss."

Perhaps in the future, Spec’s will consider focusing on what they do best — selling booze.

• Grapevine Craft Brewery makes its beers a little harder to get [CultureMap Fort Worth]