COVID-19

With vaccines now available to all adults, governors are beginning to roll back the restrictions placed on bars and restaurants aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic driven shutdown of on-premise service at bars and restaurants led to a big but expected cut in draft packaging last year, according to the 2020 “Package Mix Report” shared by the Beer Institute and compiled by the National beer Wholesalers Association’s Department of Industry Affairs.

Over the last three months, consumers of all ages have demonstrated an increased willingness to go out, which has led to an uptick in restaurant sales. Last month, restaurants nationwide posted a 36% increase in sales year-over-year and a 13.6% increase over February sales.

The Brewers Association (BA) ended 2020 with an operational net loss of $3.5 million, according to its 2020 stewardship report, which the organization released today. “No one was immune to hardship in 2020, including the Brewers Association,” president and CEO Bob Pease wrote in a note opening the report.

Sales velocities at bars and restaurants have more than tripled year-over-year (+325%) now that the calendar is cycling the strictest lockdown period in 2020, according to Nielsen CGA, market research firm NielsenIQ’s on-premise arm. “Across all states, value velocity remains strongly positive compared to last year, when on-premise decline was at its height,” Nielsen CGA reported.

Brewers Association (BA) chief economist Bart Watson this week delivered his annual state of the industry report virtually for the second time, due to the 2020 cancellation and 2021 postponement of the Craft Brewers Conference, now slated to take place this fall. In 2020, the nation’s 8,764 craft breweries posted a 9% decline in beer volume, so Watson delved into the market forces and consumer trends that led to the first volume decline recorded in BA history during a webinar for members.

Continuing to cycle the tough comps of 2020’s pandemic stock-up period, off-premise dollar sales of alcoholic beverages declined 1.3% for the week ending March 27, compared to the same week last year, according to market research firm NielsenIQ.

The Brewers Association (BA) released its annual craft brewery production report, which showed a 9% decline in 2020, in large part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. BA chief economist Bart Watson cautioned that the decline is not a perfect representation of the year for the nation’s 8,764 craft breweries.

The consumer-facing, in-person Great American Beer Festival tasting event will not take place for a second consecutive year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brewers Association (BA) announced today. However, the competition that accompanies the festival will go on as planned this year, while the in-person event is slated to return in 2022 for GABF’s 40th anniversary.

Under the new county order, breweries, wineries and craft distilleries may open for indoor service capped at 25% capacity if all alcohol sales are accompanied by bona fide meals, which can be provided in partnership with a food vendor. Businesses without food service may offer outdoor on-site service.

Sierra Nevada has announced it will reopen its breweries in Chico, California, and Mills River, North Carolina, to the public in May after what will be a 14-month hiatus from on-site service, according to a report in the Chico Enterprise-Record. Philadelphia-headquartered, on-demand delivery platform goPuff announced the completion of a $1.15 billion fundraising round earlier this week.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced most Americans to stay home except for essential errands last spring, on-demand alcohol delivery e-commerce platform Drizly’s sales skyrocketed. “We saw years’ worth of growth — five years’ worth of growth — in just a three-month timeframe,” Drizly chief operating officer Cathy Lewenberg said.

Off-premise beverage alcohol dollar sales fell for the first time in more than a year, declining 1.9% for the week ending March 13 as the industry faces tough comparisons due to the shift in consumer purchasing a year ago, as shoppers stocked their fridges as on-premise shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to market research firm NielsenIQ.

St. Patrick’s Day draft beer volume was down 20.9% compared to the same day in 2019 at on-premise establishments tracked by BeerBoard. Declining by a fifth may not seem like positive news, but BeerBoard has clocked nationwide draft volume declines at 48-51% since bars and restaurants began reopening in limited capacity last summer.