High Plains Brewing to close in Laurel after decade on Main Street

High Plains Brewing will pour its final pint on July 25, ending a decade as Laurel’s only brewery and taproom on Main Street. The brewery announced the closure on social media July 9, and the last night will include live music as a sendoff for regulars.

The business sits at 601 East Main Street in a remodeled 1940s-1950s gas station, a setting that gave it a distinct place in downtown Laurel. High Plains’ own website calls it a Main Street taproom in the heart of Laurel with deep roots in Montana agriculture. On Untappd, the brewery is listed as a microbrewery with 67 beers and more than 2,000 total ratings, a sign that it built a loyal local following over the years.

Owner David Bequette said the shutdown followed several hard blows in sequence. Sales dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the head brewer left for another opportunity, High Plains had to hire outside brewers to make beer at a higher cost. Bequette also went through throat cancer treatment in 2023, and he said he is now 69 and seriously considering retirement.

The closure lands in a wider stretch of pressure for small breweries. The Brewers Association said in its 2025 midyear report that 9,269 craft breweries were operating in the United States in June 2025, down 1% from a year earlier, with closures continuing to outpace openings. In its April 2026 annual production report, the group said U.S. craft beer production fell 5.1% in 2025, underscoring the softer demand that many brewers have been talking about for months.

That backdrop matters in towns like Laurel, where one brewery can play a larger role than a tap list suggests. High Plains has served as a social stop, a downtown draw, and a marker of local identity for about ten years. When the doors close after the July 25 farewell, Laurel will not just lose a beer producer. It will lose the only brewery on Main Street, and with it a familiar part of the town’s daily traffic.