Naked Dove Brewing to close after 15 years in Canandaigua

Naked Dove Brewing Co. is set to close in Canandaigua on June 14, ending a run that stretched more than 15 years and made the brewery a familiar stop in the Finger Lakes. In its public statement, the brewery described the decision with “equal parts sadness and gratitude,” a blunt reminder that even long-established names can run into the hard math of today’s beer business.

The brewery opened in 2010 at 4048 State Route 5 and 20 in Canandaigua, founded by former Genesee employees Dave Schlosser and Don Cotter. At the time, Naked Dove was the first microbrewery in Ontario County and, by one account, the 44th brewery in New York state. It also opened before New York breweries were allowed to serve pints the way they do now, which makes its early years feel like a snapshot of a very different craft-beer era.

Naked Dove built its reputation on a lineup that leaned both local and seasonal. Over the years, the brewery won awards for beers in multiple styles, including Berry Naked Black Raspberry Ale, Nice & Naughty Christmas Ale, My Goat bock beer, 45 Fathoms Porter and imperial stouts. That range helped give the taproom a broader pull than a single flagship beer, and it kept the brewery on the radar of regulars, tourists and beer drinkers moving through the Finger Lakes.

The closing also says something larger about where independent brewing sits now. A 15-year run once looked like proof of staying power; today it can still end with the economics no longer lining up. Rising costs, a more crowded beverage market and shifting customer habits have put pressure on small breweries that depend heavily on local traffic and repeat business. Naked Dove’s farewell follows the same pattern that has hit other regional beer businesses: a beloved taproom, a loyal following, and eventually a point where sentiment cannot outweigh the business reality.

The brewery thanked customers, past and present staff, and the Finger Lakes beer community for helping make Naked Dove what it was. When the last beers are poured in Canandaigua, the closure will leave more than an empty tap list at 4048 State Route 5 and 20. It will mark the loss of one of the breweries that helped build the region’s craft-beer identity in the first place.