pngtree
VIRTUAL BEERALITY VIEWING THE FUTURE OF CRAFT BEER IN A WORLD WITH REDUCED CONTACT
B
C’s 200 craft breweries were built to be community gathering places, forgoing TV screens in favour of long, shared tables and mingling. Now, that particular advantage they held over Big Beer has become a liability as these fledgling businesses take their battle for survival to unfriendlier territory: the retail store floor.
PART I: COPING WITH CHANGE At this point, COVID is such an established part of life, it's easy to forget how much we've adapted. We asked the panel how they and their businesses are holding up.
In our last issue, an industry panel discussed the seemingly cataclysmic onset of COVID and the subsequent massive pivot to packaged sales. Now, we deal with the aftermath.
Ben: I'm pooped. I could use a vacation, but where would I go? A staycation is out of the question. There are two fouryear-olds in my house, how would staying there help anything? Might as well go to work.
How will craft breweries survive hospitality’s harshest ever winter with slashed capacity, frozen patios and a raging virus? What awaits them in 2021 if a wary public continues to stay home?
As for Dageraad, it's doing well; partly because of blind luck and partly because we've done a good job of leaning into the changes.
This issue's thoughtful panel tended to frame their expectations realistically. More than one used the term "all things considered" when evaluating this year. Our thanks go out to these participants, some of whom supplied a generous amount of feedback. As a privileged reader, we're pleased to present to you selected excerpts from our full interviews in this special What's Brewing virtual chat room.
6 WHAT'S BREWING W I N T E R 2020
In the blind luck category, we happened to get a BC Liquor listing for Burnabarian cans right before the pandemic started, and that really helped take the sting out of losing every single draught account and closing our tasting room for months. Lara: The initial shutdown wasn't a huge shock; we saw it coming. But the shock was how long it lasted. I'm really proud that we've been able to retain all of our staff.
