How Brewers Guilds Are Helping Breweries Survive the Pandemic
When the pandemic hit, breweries had to scramble. They needed to figure out questions like furloughs, federal relief, and home delivery, and they turned to their local brewers guilds. I wanted to see where things stand now, five months into the crisis, so I spoke to a group of guild heads.
To aid that effort, Rob Fullmer, Executive Director of the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild did me a big solid by organizing a round-table with guilds across the country. We met on Zoom, and tech being what it is, we were able to record the event, which I’ve included below as a Podcast Extra. I had originally imagined this would turn into a written piece, but I think it is richer and more informational to just listen to the discussion. There were ten state guild leaders on the call, and they ranged from larger rural states to the NY City Brewers Guild. The breweries they represent are confronting situations as varied as those we’re seeing across the country. These are the folks who joined the call:
Arizona: Rob Fullmer
Kansas: Phil Bradley
Ohio: Justin Hemminger
Oklahoma: Tabby Burwell
NY City: Ann Riley
Nebraska: Brianne Schuler
Maryland: Jim Bauckman
Colorado: Shawnee Adelson
Georgia: Joseph Cortes
New Hampshire: CJ White
I wanted to get a sense of what the situation was now, how states were managing a new legal and regulatory environment, and what the future looks like as we head back into the cold months. I was particularly interested to hear how the pandemic is affecting breweries now that draft sales have been so damaged. How are they finding market access, particularly during a time of consolidating distribution? We also discussed how the guilds themselves are managing this crisis, given that their funding sources took a hit—even when they’re more necessary now than ever.
When the pandemic began, a substantial percentage of breweries predicted they’d be out of business if this lasted a few months. That didn’t happen. I’m happy to say that although these guild leaders are tired and a bit frayed, they are also hopeful. Breweries have used those months to retool business plans on the fly, and they’re now prepping for the long winter slog ahead. Give a listen to this and hear more about all of that.