Pulse Brew

PULSEBREW RYAN CASHMAN

As I am wont to do when I am fishing for ideas for this column, I turn to my much loved - and much written about - local brewery: Purgatory Beer Co.

Recently, both nationally and locally, breweries and bars have begun serving food to patrons in order to open. Restrictions in many states - including MA - have mandated establishments serving food - restaurants, food trucks, etc. - be open for business, while those serving strictly alcohol - bars and breweries - must remain closed, at least indoors. This has forced drinking establishments into a tight corner.

While food has always been a major component of the drinking experience, it’s never been the reason we venture out to bars or breweries. We venture for the drink, the real star. But this begs the question: what is keeping many independent breweries from becoming full-blown restaurants? I can think of two primary rea- sons.

First: cost.We all know that cost can pile up in the blink of an eye when you are running a restaurant, much in the same way costs can pile up when you’re running a brewery. The main difference is a difference in product and owner preference. Brewers get into the beer making game because they love beer, just as chefs and restaurateurs get into the restaurant game because they love food. Most brewery profits go right back into the beer making, especially seeing how breweries often begin as, or remain, passionate side projects.

Second: regulation and licensing. Hear me out on this. I know one of the most difficult licenses to get in MA is a license to serve alcohol. So we’ll toss that one out of the way right now. Restaurants, on the other hand, have to face strict hygiene standards in both food preparation and overall cleanliness. Said standards have be- come much stricter due to the pandemic. Many restaurants are now unable to keep up with the restrictions to their businesses and we are seeing a remarkable amount close nationwide.

So where does this leave our brewers? They cannot fully open without serving food and the restrictions around serving food may put them in a worse place than if they were to continue without. The solution, frankly, is unknown.

Purgatory, though, seems to have found one that works for them. On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sunday’s Anzio’s Pizza - a travelling woodfire oven pizzeria - will be parked outside of Purgatory Beer Co. from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. As per state law, in order for beer to be consumed onsite it must accompany a meal. Cleverly, Purgato- ry and Anzio’s have come to an arrangement by which they are both able to stay in business during a time when so many are unable to do so.

I imagine this may become the way of eating in the twenty-first century, especially after COVID-19. Two independent businesses, serving excellent products to cus- tomers, working jointly for the sake of each other. What better way is there to form a community?