Camp Pennant, the restaurant-brewery-distillery that replaced Liquid Riot on Commercial Street last June, was recently listed for sale, as the owners ran into challenges finding markets and distribution for their beer and spirits.

Co-owner Michael Fraser said the restaurant portion of the business has largely worked and met the numbers they expected. But the distilling and particularly the brewery segments significantly underperformed, leading to a “pretty big cash-negative situation.”

“It turns out it’s super-challenging times for breweries right now, particularly when you’re trying to start a new brand,” Fraser said, noting that Camp Pennant’s list price is $895,000. “Less people are buying beer, and the market is telling me they’re buying stuff they know as opposed to stuff that’s new. They’re not as willing to try new stuff as they were five years ago.

“To some degree, had I kept Liquid Riot going rather than changing brands, I would be a lot better off,” he added. “We thought we could improve on the Liquid Riot model, and it turns out that’s not true at all.”

Fraser said any potential sale is six months to a year out because of licensing paperwork at the federal, state and city levels. In the meantime, the summer camp-themed restaurant will continue to operate as-is through the high season, staying open seven days a week.

Camp Pennant’s distilling operation features a wide variety of spirits, including tequila, gin vodka, rum, bourbon, rye and single-malt whiskey, and will continue its production. Fraser said the brewery may slash its 12-beer output, focusing on 4 or 5 particular beers so the company can rent out half of its tank space and let Camp Pennant serve as an incubator for startup breweries.

“The (beer and spirits) market is tough to break into right now,” said Fraser, who is also a partner in Bramhall, CBG, Nosh Kitchen Bar, Paper Tiger and Roma. “The right buyer will be someone who has a distribution channel already, because the restaurant works.”