Rent hike, multiple break-ins lead Oakland's Ale Industries to announce closure

Oakland's Ale Industries brewery announces plans to close

OAKLAND -- A popular brewery in Oakland's Fruitvale District announced Tuesday it is calling it quits, partly blaming the closure on rising crime.

Ale Industries has been featured in a few past KPIX stories. The brewery's co-founder Morgan Cox wrote that the decision to shut down came after being hit by a 50% rent increase in a Facebook post Tuesday.

But the rent hike was not the only reason cited in the closure announcement.

"We have been broken into 5 separate times in the last year. Each time we increase our security, and each time the break-ins get bolder," Cox wrote.

Ale Industries was known for its frequent collaborations. The brewery partnered with Grammy-nominated Bay Area thrash-metal band Death Angel on several beers starting with the Caster of Shame IPA in 2018.

The brewhouse also worked with the Oakland Zoo on brews to benefit wildlife causes. Ale Industries will sell its remaining stock at its tap room through November.

Dave Pehling

Dave Pehling is website managing editor for CBS Bay Area. He started his journalism career doing freelance writing about music in the late 1990s, eventually working as a web writer, editor and producer for KTVU.com in 2003. He began his role with CBS Bay Area in 2015.