Well, we’re at the midpoint of the year — and what a year it’s been— so I thought I’d take a look at where we are as far as craft beer from a few angles.
First up is a peek at craft beer sales and how the numbers may be skewed. While it’s too early to assess the entire picture, data seems to indicate that people are still buying a decent amount of craft beer.
But although people may be buying it, they are obviously doing so at stores, not in bars and restaurants, which have largely closed since March. I’m not an economist nor am I an expert on beer cost markups at various levels, but there has to be some sort of lost revenue here, (beyond the general suppression caused by the pandemic in general) since selling draft beer at a venue costs less than canning or bottling it for selling in stores.
Some of this “live” beer selling will return as venues start to open up, but I have a feeling that bars (not in eateries) will not be able to safely reopen for a while, and not even all restaurants will be able to do so.
I will not get into the politics of what should be open and when, but there is no denying that the coronavirus is still very much with us and any sort of vaccine is still a long way off. (It takes at least a year for trials, etc.) So right now, these reopening schemes are based on best guesses by various public officials. And if we’re being honest, not all of this guesswork has gone particularly well in some states.
Breweries that have tap rooms, but which don’t serve food, are at particular risk, since they can only sell canned or bottled products to go. These places are on a tight enough margin to start with, and I fear for their survival. But if their retail sales numbers are strong enough, here’s hoping we can all make it through to the other side.
Next up is some good news for airline travelers. Delta Air Lines has restored wine and beer service for most of its domestic flights.
The move comes three months after Delta eliminated alcohol from flights as the coronavirus surged. Flight attendants will now deliver your beer via serving trays, which eliminate points of contact between themselves and customers. Beer is different and easier than mixed drinks, which involves mixing and stirring and often adding fruit or other ingredients by hand.
Although I am leery of any travel that confines me with others in a contained area, if I had to board a plane, I’d be happy to have a beer or two available to calm my nerves – and not just about flying itself.
Last but not least, a nice story out of Chicago:
Laurin Mack, the great-great-great granddaughter of 19th-century brewer Conrad Seipp, decided she wanted to taste her ancestor’s beer and did just that, even though the Conrad Seipp Brewing Co. has been out of business since Prohibition. Mack collaborated with Metropolitan Brewing Co.‘s Tracy and Doug Hurst to bring back the old-style German pilsner.
Seipp Brewing was at one point the largest brewer in the country, according to a story on wttw.com. The story also quotes Doug Hurst, who pieced together the recipe, as saying that the beer back then, compared to larger brands today, were “a little bit different. It was stronger in flavor, it had more hops, but it still used corn or rice like they use today.”
So if you’re going to be near Chicago and want to sample a truly old-school brew, you can find where to get it at the brewery’s website.
July 05, 2020 at 04:24PM
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Beer Nut: Some midyear brew news - MassLive.com
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