As states grapple with reopening for business in face of the COVID-19 pandemic, one Maine brewpub owner opted to defy the reopening plan Gov. Janet Mills laid out last week that orders restaurants to remain shut for on-premise dining until June.
German officials today cancelled the country’s famed Oktoberfest celebration due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. The California Craft Brewers Association — a nonprofit trade group that represents the interests of the state’s craft brewers — announced today the cancellation of its “Craft Beer Summit,” which was scheduled for September 9-12 in Long Beach.
A pair of recent surveys of craft brewery owners in South Carolina and California have revealed the financial pressures the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 have placed on small beer companies. A survey released by the South Carolina Brewers Guild on April 14 showed that 80% of the state’s breweries may be forced to close within the next three months if the current shutdown of on-premise and at-the-brewery sales remain in place.
The Reyes Beer Division has made its third acquisition in California of 2020, reaching an agreement to acquire the assets of Richmond, California-based Bay Area Beverage Company.
Barry Holmes, CEO of The Bruery and Offshoot Beer Co., offers tips to breweries considering getting into direct-to-consumer or membership club business and shares how The Bruery is engaging its members via weekly, virtual happy hours on Thursday nights. He also discusses how adding a line of canned hazy IPAs and a pilsner through the Offshoot brand has helped fortify The Bruery’s business, which was originally built on barrel-aged and sour offerings.
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) announced Tuesday that it will postpone tax payments and filing deadlines as its constituent businesses grapple with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Craftworks Holdings has laid off its nationwide staff of 18,000 people, according to Westword.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the $2.2 trillion stimulus package Friday afternoon and sent the bill to President Donald Trump, who signed the bill into law at 4 p.m. ET in the Oval Office. U.S. brewers shipped 11,350,000 barrels in February, a decline of 0.7% compared to February 2019, according to national trade group the Beer Institute.
San Diego, California-headquartered Green Flash Brewing has furloughed or laid off most of its staff, VP of marketing Ben Widseth confirmed to Brewbound on Tuesday evening.
In California, where more than 1,000 breweries are in operation, the state Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) has offered temporary regulatory relief for license holders such as drive-thru windows for off-premise transactions, packaged goods sold to-go from on-premise retailers and delivery to consumers.
As the hospitality industry grapples with the impact of mandated closures of restaurants, bars, brewery taprooms and tasting rooms, craft breweries and brewpubs are beginning to announce staff layoffs and furloughs.
With mandated shutdowns of bars, restaurants and taprooms in more than 20 states and voluntary closures in many others, the novel coronavirus has forced craft brewers to get creative in getting their beer to consumers.
Statewide shutdowns of on-premise consumption at bars and restaurants have been announced in Illinois, Ohio, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Restaurants in these states can still sell food for takeout or delivery.
The craft brewery where the brut IPA trend started in 2018 shuttered with little warning over the weekend. San Francisco brewpub Social Kitchen and Brewery announced it would close its doors last weekend, citing lease issues.
The Reyes Beer Division has reached an agreement to acquire certain distribution rights from Sacramento, California-based Saccani Distributing Company. The acquisition will add 1.5 million cases to Reyes’ Golden Brands subsidiary, which sells 26 million cases to 14,000 accounts in Northern California.
