Beer is meh. And they really never capitalized on their opening. Many times I’d walk straight by to peace tree, and there weren’t many people there at any hour of the evening.
Breweries to survive coronavirus?
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Beer is meh. And they really never capitalized on their opening. Many times I’d walk straight by to peace tree, and there weren’t many people there at any hour of the evening.
I will add that I never understand when a new business....especially one that can benefit from foot traffic of nearby other established entities, doesn't invest and install decent signage.
Relying on "1717 Brewery" on modest sized window lettering just on your door seems like you're not really serious about being successful.
It also doesn’t help when those posted hours have changed. I get that redoing the hours on the door is a chore, but updating your hours on socials isn’t that hard. I’ve wanted to give it another shot a number of times when my friends and I hit happy hour in our neighborhood, but we tried two different days and doors were locked.
The smart ones that are otherwise mostly shut down are making hand sanitizer. That is something that would be easy for a brewery to make, it is mostly alcohol after all.
What your thinking of are not breweries but distilleries. A brewery does not have batch distillation to concentrate the ethanol. That’s distilling and some have done it. Some breweries may have it but i suspect most do not
The breweries who are adapting are going to be the breweries who survive. Places like Lua who didn't have to go orders when they initially shut down, I don't believe would survive. Since they're offering to go beer and food now, I think they'll do alright. The resiliency of a lot of these establishments have shown is really cool. Places like Barn Town who are doing daily specials and modifying their business structure to accommodate these crazy times should at least be able to continue some form of revenue stream.
My fear is that some of the interest in these places is going to wane as this goes on. Day 1, I was pumped for Lua crowlers. Am I still going to feel like driving down town in a week for a couple of beers that will only last me a couple of days? Will I even be able to leave my house to do that?
My fear is that some of the interest in these places is going to wane as this goes on. Day 1, I was pumped for Lua crowlers. Am I still going to feel like driving down town in a week for a couple of beers that will only last me a couple of days? Will I even be able to leave my house to do that?
Several breweries in the Cities have sold out of all their crowlers and had to shut down for a day or two to stock up so that is a good sign. A lot of them are also offering gift cards with bonus money that can be used at a future date. Like buy a $50 gift card and get a free $10 or something.
When I went on my crowler run I hit up a few breweries since it was a 25 min drive.
I picked up a Crowler at Fenders recently. Owner told me their business since the shutdown has been booming. They are moving a lot of beer. Can that continue? I hope so. I like their beer.
I'd worry most about the small and relatively new breweries that, while they may be well-liked, don't have the huge fan following that the likes of Barntown and Lua have managed to capture. In my area, I'm thinking specifically of Brightside and Fenceline, and have concentrated my to-go buying on them.
I highly recommend Gezellig, they’re in the same boat. I ordered some crowlers from them online Saturday and their system is really easy to use. It lets you choose a time for pickup and then when you get there you call when you’re at their door and someone brings it out. No waiting in line.
Last Friday I did a crowler pickup at El Bait Shop, it worked slick. Told them what I wanted on FB and then called them to bring it out when I got there.
Yesterday, after being couped up all week, I decided to get some crowlers from Alluvial. It took a little bit longer than expected but at this point who cares. It was 5pm and there were probably 10 cars waiting for crowlers. I liked how Alluvial set up an e commerce site so you can pay in advance. One guy walked up without ordering in advance and they told him he would have to order online.
Sounds like Lua pretty much ran out of beer last week.
I think the good ones will be fine.
Yesterday, after being couped up all week, I decided to get some crowlers from Alluvial. It took a little bit longer than expected but at this point who cares. It was 5pm and there were probably 10 cars waiting for crowlers. I liked how Alluvial set up an e commerce site so you can pay in advance. One guy walked up without ordering in advance and they told him he would have to order online.
Sounds like Lua pretty much ran out of beer last week.
I think the good ones will be fine.
I’m doing the same. Focusing on a few places that are local and smaller.
Was at Fenceline yesterday and there were multiple people there to get beer. They said they’ve been busy and sounds like they will start offering their Brussel sprouts and a few things for carry out soon.
I'm going to pick up Pivo again this weekend. Not sure if it will be tonight or tomorrow AM though.
i'm doing my best to keep the local-ish breweries in business. not really worried about Big Grove, but i am a little worried about Millstream and Kalona. i've been really enjoying Kalona's 'Hot Mess' DIPA lately -- can you get that in Central Iowa?
7 Hills here in Dubuque has been doing Growler refills for 7 bucks. I'll be going back tomorrow for the 5th time since this all started. They have pretty good craft food, too, so I'll probably order dinner for me and the Mrs.
