1840 Shuttering Bay View Brewery
Follows closure of satellite West Bend location. Owners battling serious health issue.
Glasses of Saison at 1840 Brewing Company. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
After nearly eight years in business, Bay View-based 1840 Brewing Company is closing.
The brewery, 342 E. Ward St., announced the closure in a Facebook post Friday evening, attributing the decision to both market pressures and a personal health battle.
“It has been an amazing honor to serve you over the last (almost) 8 years! We are so grateful for the connections, friendships, collaborations, and memories we have made together. We will cherish them forever,” wrote husband-and-wife founders Kyle and Stephanie Vetter.
In Friday’s announcement, the Vetters said the burdens of running a small brewery amid difficult industry conditions—combined with Stephanie’s illness—prompted the closure.
Stephanie was diagnosed with stage four metastatic pancreatic cancer in 2024. The couple, who has two young children, announced that Stephanie would undergo an aggressive treatment plan. A GoFundMe campaign was launched.
Kyle served as the head brewer.
“We have made the incredibly difficult—yet simultaneously easy—decision to close up shop with our heads held high,” they wrote. “We are insanely proud of the liquid we produced with the incredible team of people we were lucky enough to make it with. But it is time for every waking minute to be spent together at home, continuing our fight against cancer and making more family memories.”
The news comes just days after 1840 announced it was shuttering its taproom in West Bend. Financial and operational challenges were cited as the reason for that closure. The satellite location had been open since April 2024, but was several months delayed in opening.
The flagship brewery and taproom in Bay View opened in a former warehouse in 2017. Named for the year Wisconsin’s first commercial brewery opened, 1840 began as a self-distributing operation focused on mixed fermentation and barrel-aged beers. It later expanded to include a taproom with both indoor and outdoor seating.
Over the years, the brewery gained recognition for its innovative beer styles, creative collaborations and strong community ties. It was a regular participant in Milwaukee beer festivals and built a dedicated following through both limited bottle releases and taproom-only offerings. The brewery regularly hosted block parties on E. Ward Street, including an event May 30 during Bay View Gallery Night.
The Vetters said they plan to share more details soon about a final beer release and the future of the 1840 brand.
“It has truly been an honor to be a part of this community,” they wrote. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting our family, and the families of our employees, with such passion since we opened our doors in 2017.”
The brewery’s final day of service will be Sunday, June 29.
1840’s closure comes as the Milwaukee craft beer industry faces substantial upheaval. City Lights Brewing Co., Company Brewing, MobCraft Beer and Enlightened Brewing Company, the latter which was only blocks from 1840, all closed within a 12-month window. But three new breweries, St. Francis Brewery, Lombardi Brewing Company and a MobCraft revival under new ownership, either opened or are planned to open.
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