Longtime local brewery Ghost Train files for bankruptcy

Today is a sad day for lovers of craft beer in Birmingham. Ghost Train Brewing Company—a local brewery founded in 2014—has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Ghost Train Brewing Co. files for bankruptcy

According to a recent article by the Birmingham Business Journal, Ghost Train Brewing Co. filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy earlier this month. If that sounds like déjà vu all over again, Ghost Train filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.

While Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a business to reorganize its debts, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing is meant for companies to liquidate their assets to pay off their debts.

In other words, it looks like this is the end for Ghost Train Brewing Co.

A look back at ten years of Ghost Train Brewing Co. in Birmingham

Ghost Train Brewing Co. was founded in 2014 by Patrick Small and Taylor DeBoer, who began the operation by contract brewing out of a brewery in Mississippi. After a couple of years, they opened Ghost Train’s first taproom 2616 3rd Avenue South, the original taproom for Cahaba Brewing Company.

Over the years, Ghost Train introduced dozens of intriguing craft beers, including the Kaleidoscope Kettle Sour, the Gulf Coast IPA, the Allurium Double IPA and—my personal favorite—O-Bomb Imperial Sour.

In 2022, Ghost Train announced that they’d be leaving their original location on 3rd Avenue South to focus on growing a new location at the M2 development on 1st Avenue South.

The 3rd Avenue South location didn’t stay empty for long; local brewer Nate Darnell opened Uproot Brewing Co. there in February 2023.

In July 2024, Ghost Train temporarily closed its doors, citing “exciting changes.”

Pour one out for this beloved Birmingham brewery and tag @bhamnow to let us know your favorite memories and drinks from Ghost Train.