THE landlords of a popular Lye brewery which has closed due to “unforeseen circumstances” say talks are continuing and if the venture can be saved they would support that.

Beat Brewery announced on its Facebook page on October 28 that the microbrewery and taproom were closed “at the moment due to unforeseen circumstances and not sure when we will be able to reopen”.

The notice added: “We will keep you posted as soon as we know more. Sorry to let you all down for this weekend.”

Meanwhile, the Stourbridge & Halesowen branch of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) has reported that when staff arrived onsite on the morning of October 28 they found official notices taped to all doors of the premises confirming the landlord had re-entered the premises, under clause 32 of the lease, and as a consequence the lease was forfeited and the premises have been secured.

Stourbridge & Halesowen CAMRA press officer Steve Pratt described the situation as “very worrying” for the small team of “hard-working and dedicated staff” at the brewery, located on the Old Forge Trading Estate, off Dudley Road, and he added: “The Saturday night live-music events were particularly popular and their beers were also enjoyed by customers near and far.”

A further note posted on the Beat Brewery’s Facebook page on October 29 thanked people for their messages and comments of support and added: “Hopefully we can give you some news over the coming weeks.”

Meanwhile, CAMRA said it would be trying to make contact with the new owner who took over the microbrewery in the summer.

Landlords Folks Properties would not go into detail about what had happened but a spokesperson for the company, which rents out many commercial properties in the area, said: “We are continuing discussions with the former tenant regarding the situation, although unfortunately we cannot comment on the nature of those discussions at this moment in time.

“Beat Brewery is very popular with the local community and so if it can be saved then certainly that is something we fully support.”

Former manager of Beat Brewery Rachel Hunt confirmed all staff had been notified that they were being made redundant and she added: “All our staff and customers were fantastic, we would like to think that some honest person can pick this up so we can start again.”

The brewery started out in Somerset and in July 2018 it was bought out by Topcat Brewery Limited and relocated to Lye, where the taproom was expanded in 2021 much to the delight of ale fans.

In July 2022 a London-based businessman was appointed as director of the company and neighbouring business R&M Metal Finishing.