As the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads across the globe, people are being forced to alter their lifestyles as governments scramble to devise appropriate responses.
Here in the United States, as has been amply discussed in the media, the Federal government has been slow to address the pandemic, leaving state and local governments, and individual businesses, institutions, and persons to figure out what steps to take to mitigate the spread of the infection.
Displaying the solidarious and community-oriented spirit that epitomizes it, the craft beer community quickly stepped up to the plate and got creative. For example, Rolling Rock brewing in Berkeley announced last week that they were stopping the filling of growlers brought in by customers. All to-go beer would be packaged in a crowler or require the purchase of a new growler. Danville Brewing has worked with the City of Danville to establish curbside pick-up of brews and food from their restaurant. Monk’s Kettle restaurant in San Francisco reportedly has been working on a similar arrangement. Brewpubs and taprooms everywhere have stepped up sanitizing routines, shortened hours of operation, or moved to a to-go only model.
Heeding calls for social-isolation, others have voluntarily shut down operations altogether. One of the first to take such measures was Maryland’s Flying Dog, which closed it beer hall and airport taprooms, and cancelled all events at its brewery as early as March 11th. New Belgium, Dogfish Head, and others followed suit in the following days. Just this morning, San Francisco’s Fort Point Brewery announced it would be closing its taprooms and restaurants until further notice. They did so just hours ahead of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s call for bars, wineries, and brewpubs to close.
Spring is also festival season, and events cancellations are rolling in like falling dominoes. Bay Area events such as Concord’s Spring Brews Fest and Martinez’s California Craft Beer Festival have been cancelled, as has Firestone Walker’s Invitational Beer Fest in Paso Robles.
On the 12th, the Brewers Association announced the cancellation of the Craft Brewers Conference, on of the largest industry events, which was to have been held in April. At the same time, the Brewers Association cancelled the World Beer Cup competition. Even the American Homebrewers Association pulled the plug on the nation’s largest homebrew competition just hours ahead of when judges and stewards in various regions were to start gathering to judge the first round of entries.
While Big Beer will weather this just fine, small brewers, pubs, taprooms and shops in the craft and homebrew world will have to make further sacrifices that will be undeniably painful. Many businesses, already feeling the pinch from decreased attendance, will undoubtedly incur severe losses in the weeks-long closures to come. For some businesses, sadly, these will be fatal. Even at those that make it through, idled hourly employees will face financial hardships. Many will lose their jobs.
In the meantime, those of us who support those breweries, bars, and shops struggle between the urge to help out our neighborhood businesses weather the crisis by patronizing them before they have to shut down, and heeding the call to stay home and self-isolate.
