Prehistoric Brewing Co. to close

Prehistoric Brewing Co. is shuttering roughly 18 months after opening, the owners said on social media yesterday.

The 1816 S. Glenstone Ave. brewery, located in the Plaza Shopping Center at the Sunshine Street intersection, is targeting a February or March closure, according to a Feb. 7 Facebook post from the company.

"This project of over 10 years seems to have been cursed from the moment we decided to pursue fully opening a great brewery for this city," co-founder Charley Norton said in the Facebook post. "Between the extensive delays with the architect and contractor, not to mention the COVID shutdown, the metered reopening and the continuing response, it has turned this dream into a nightmare and made it nearly impossible to successfully launch a new business."

The 3,500-square-foot, dinosaur-themed brewery opened in June 2020, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, according to past reporting. Norton teamed up with Keith Davis on the venture.

Prehistoric Brewing is the only Queen City brewery to announce closure plans since Mother's Brewing Co.'s 2011 debut set off a flurry of openings across the city, according to Springfield Business Journal research. Springfield Brewing Co. is the longest-running brewery in town, open since 1997.

White River Brewing Co. was the first to open after Mother's Brewing, with others including 4 By 4 Brewing Co., Great Escape Beer Works, Tie & Timber Beer Co. and Hold Fast Brewing. Springfield's 11th brewery, Banter Brewing Co., launched in November, and just outside the city, in Battlefield, Wire Road Brewery began serving in January.

Prehistoric Brewing ranked No. 10 on SBJ's recent list of the area's largest breweries, with 125 barrels produced in 2021. The annual tally was up 25% from six months of production in 2020, according to SBJ list research. No. 1 on the list is Mother’s Brewing, with 8,008 barrels produced in 2021, followed by SBC with 2,200 barrels.