A COVID-19 American Craft Beer Week

American Craft Beer Week (May 11-17) is the annual nationwide celebration of small and independent U.S. craft breweries. Join the celebration and support independent brewery businesses by giving the gift of craft beer through delivery of beer, beer-to-go, gift cards or merchandise, CraftBeer.com
In more joyous times, American Craft Beer Week would entail various celebrations at beer bars, restaurants, and breweries with consumers able to sample a wide array of craft-brewed beer. That was before COVID-19 and the nationwide shutdown that has disabled, not only craft breweries, but also the restaurants and retail outlets which were once strong outlets of the craft beer supply chain.
The Brewers Association (BA) is the membership organization dedicated to promoting and protecting small and independent craft brewers in the United States. The BA defines a craft brewer as small, traditional, and independent -- features which make these establishments particularly vulnerable during this pandemic. Many of these small brewers rely completely on tasting room sales and do not have the distribution arrangements for a wider audience. They are also independent and not partly or wholly owned by large conglomerates that have the cash reserve or financial ties to weather the crisis.
In normal economic times, there is creative destruction within the industry where a certain number of breweries will open and a smaller number closing their doors. However, with challenging profit margins, even in the best of times, many of our favorite breweries may not survive without our focused assistance. CraftBeer.com has published a Nationwide List of To-Go Beer Options by Breweries and for this week (and beyond) are asking consumers for their support. If you are ill or an at-risk individual, you should avoid going out, but consider purchasing a gift card or searching for local breweries providing delivery services. If you are healthy, take advantage of curbside beer service.  With our help craft breweries will ride this, and any future, COVID-19 storms.
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