"Unity is strength. . . when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved." —Mattie Stepanek
Another week under our belts of this pandemic and it seems like things have somewhat hovered around where they were the previous week, a refreshing lull after a rush of change. Dare we ask: Is the new normal?
While it does seem like things are slowing down a bit with regards to new developments and policy changes, it may leave us asking ourselves, “how long will this last?” — whether it’s pertaining to how long it’ll be until the next major change, how long we’ll have the shelter-in-place order, how long it’ll be till we can enjoy our craft barley beverages at our favorite brewery, distillery, etc. We’re in serious limbo.
Despite it all, our incredible community keeps collaborating to achieve strength through teamwork. Day after day, there’s pieces of news that bring light during these darker times. There’s just as much positive as there is negative to Coronavirus if you’re looking in the right places. Here are a few of them:
Dustin Hall of The Brewtography Project is supporting the community through book donations. His generous efforts have raised $4,293 and counting for Colorado craft breweries!
Four Saints Brewing Company continues to connect with their community in creative ways as they adjust to the new situation as the first and only brewery in Randolph County, North Carolina. Check out what they’re doing here!
Root Shoot Malting is donating 16,000 pounds of corn to Colorado distilleries to make hand sanitizer to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. The maltster has donated more than 6,000 pounds to-date for hand sanitizer efforts to Ballmer Peak Distillery, Big Fat Pastor Spirits, Conflagration Distilling, Denver Distillery, Golden Moon Distillery, Idlewild Spirits Distillery, Molly Brown Distillery, Rocker Spirits, and The Block Distilling Co., with more to come.
Other Half Brewing out of New York launched a new campaign, All Together — similar to that of Sierra Nevada’s Resilience campaign. All Together is a worldwide collaboration created to raise awareness and funds for the craft industry. “#AllTogetherBeer invites any brewer, from any corner of the planet, to participate by providing the tools needed to make the beer at the lowest possible cost, including an open-source recipe, artwork, and name. In exchange, the collective asks that a portion of the proceeds go to supporting hospitality professionals in each brewery’s own community. The rest should be donated to keeping the brewery in business to weather this storm.” Read more on Brewbound.
33 craft maltsters responded to a recent survey conducted by the Craft Maltsters Guild (CMG) regarding the impact COVID-19 has had on their businesses. As expected, 88% of those responded said that they have already been impacted through reduced sales, however, only 9% of those surveyed made employee lay-offs. That equates to only 3 of the 33 that maltsters forced to make that difficult decision. Support maltsters during this time, and always, by purchasing beer made with local malt or who sport the Craft Malt Seal. Learn more on 5280 Magazine.
The COVID pandemic has forced many business owners to think outside of the box as they’re adapting to the “new normal” we’re living in. Andy Jessen of Bonfire Brewing share this in a recent Forbes article:
"It has also made us realize how little we were taking advantage of the opportunity to engage in a broader fashion with our diverse online customer base. With no options for communicating in-person, we've successfully created brand new channels of engagement that are proving successful. The crisis has also shown us the strength of our team and the support they garner in the community. Leaders are emerging.”
If you know of a community or nonprofit effort that supports hospitality businesses in need, we want to hear about it. Comment here, or email us so we can help get the word out.
We’d also love to continue sharing your stories and help you keep track of your evolving changes around COVID precautions. Please email your COVID statements to karen@radcraftbeer.com.
Stay safe and healthy out there!
—Karen Mills, RadCraft Content Editor