Water and sewers. They're rather important for a brewery.

Last week, Cutters Brewing Company closed.

R.I.P., Cutters Brewing Company.

 ... The death of a brewery is a death in the family. Best of luck to the Cutters crew; I hope there'll be positions for you at Indianapolis breweries.

Subsequently, it emerged that sewers may have been at the bottom of it.

Cutters Brewing Company closes, owes $77K in sewage fees by Bennett Haeberle (WISH-TV)

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Cutters Brewing Company, which announced online Tuesday that it would cease operations immediately, owes more than $77,000 in sewage fees, I-Team 8 has confirmed.

Cutters, based in Avon, never sought to establish its own sewer line and instead relied upon a neighboring business for water and sewer services, according to Tom Bruns with Aqua Indiana, which serves the Hendricks County Regional Sewer District ...

There are two sides to every story, of course, but there's also a coincidence to this one.

Cranley: Halt brewery crackdown, by Sharon Coolidge and Shauna Steigerwald (Cincinnati.com)

During the last month, the Metropolitan Sewer District started charging breweries extra for their wastewater disposal, but a brewer outcry prompted Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black late Thursday to temporarily suspend the new surcharges program – though there won't be relief for breweries or businesses already inspected for the surcharge.

"We've heard from brewery owners," Black said. "I share their concerns that we do this the right way, not just right away. We'll work together in coming weeks to strike the right balance between enforcing regulations and encouraging business development and job growth."

Water and wastewater. As I've learned these past few years while delving into local political matters, they are topics of vital importance to municipalities. The city of New Albany has been debating sewers and sewage treatment for most of my adult life, and with renewed vigor during the past two decades, following an EPA death sentence.

It just might be a good idea to start budgeting now. My hunch is these matters won't be getting any easier for breweries any time soon.

R.I.P., Cutters Brewing Company.

Yes, I knew this sad announcement was likely prior to concluding my most recent column with bullishness about Hoosier brewing. The Cutters situation was mentioned in several discussions over the weekend.

In any quasi-free market (whatever that means), there'll always be an attrition rate, and for a wide and staggering number of reasons -- including whichever variant of "democracy" (huh?) is being practiced in your new hometown.

I'm intimately familiar with this reality: "A tightrope of location, distribution, marketing and operations must be walked." You say that production scale and distribution will be the answer? Maybe it will, but be sure to pin down the sewer utility before writing checks.

The death of a brewery is a death in the family. Best of luck to the Cutters crew; I hope there'll be positions for you at Indianapolis breweries.

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Cutters Brewing Company LLC

On behalf of the owners and operators of the Cutters Brewing Company, Avon IN, it's with tremendous regret that we must announce that all brewing operations will cease immediately.

We would like to thank the Indiana craft beer community—its fans, festival goers, suppliers and retailers—for their support over the last four years. We were very proud of the southern Indiana heritage and values represented in our brand and our recipes. It was an interesting, challenging and educational ride while it lasted.

Launching a small business demands certain sacrifices. We knew that competing in the exploding craft beer business would not be easy. It not only takes sellable products but a tightrope of location, distribution, marketing and operations must be walked.

We knew we would make our share of missteps and hoped that none of those miscues would be fatal. However, ultimately, it was our inability come to a reasonable resolution with the Avon Sewage Company, whom we believe was simply extorting us for exorbitant sums, that precipitated the decision to close.

While our remaining inventory will likely be in market for a period of time, we will be winding down operations effective immediately, which includes participation in upcoming Indiana craft beer events and the operation of our tasting room.

Thanks again to all who worked hard and supported our efforts, we couldn’t grown from a tiny nano brewery operation to a full-scale production brewery without you!

We remain ardent supporters of the craft beer industry in general. The men and women who make up this calling are by and large a most genuine, selfless, hardworking, inventive and caring group. We were proud to name ourselves among their number.