COVID-19 and MN Taprooms

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by TrailsandAles, Mar 15, 2020.

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  1. TrailsandAles

    TrailsandAles Aspirant (277) Sep 10, 2014 Minnesota

    Barrel Theory has gone to "beer to go" only at the taproom now.

    https://barreltheory.com/news/taproom-update/

    "Beginning Monday, March 16 the Barrel Theory taproom will be closed for all draft beer sales until further notice. We will stay open during limited hours for crowler sales only. Our plan as of now is to have to-go be available from noon – 6 p.m. during this time."
     
  2. morimech

    morimech Grand Pooh-Bah (3,803) Nov 6, 2006 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah

    Roets Jordan has closed for the rest of March.
     
  3. gatornation

    gatornation Grand High Pooh-Bah (10,388) Apr 18, 2007 Arizona
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Bang Brewery is closed until further notice.
     
  4. ZAP

    ZAP Grand Pooh-Bah (4,048) Dec 1, 2001 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I understand if they feel the need to close but I would think stepping up offerings in crowlers would be a good option.
     
  5. maximum12

    maximum12 Grand Pooh-Bah (4,686) Jan 21, 2008 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Add Fair State to the list:

     
    ElmerLovejoy likes this.
  6. morimech

    morimech Grand Pooh-Bah (3,803) Nov 6, 2006 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah

    My standing until state ordered at least offer to go offers. This dilemma will shutter more than a few brewery/taprooms in MN.
     
  7. BillManley

    BillManley Pundit (954) Jul 2, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    Sure would be nice if all breweries could offer growler sales...:angry:
    Surly's Beer Hall and Pizza are still open for business, but capacity has been drastically cut to allow for appropriate distancing. Traffic has been (understandably) slow.
    For the first time ever, we're offering online ordering and curbside pick-up. We'll see how this goes.
     
    ZAP, Chaz and Victory_Sabre1973 like this.
  8. Victory_Sabre1973

    Victory_Sabre1973 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,445) Sep 15, 2015 Minnesota
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    On the Wild Mind Facebook page:


    Wild Mind Artisan Ales
    13 mins ·
    It is finally at our doorsteps, Wild Mind is going dark effectively immediately for all taproom draft sales. Any weekly events are cancelled until further notice along with this weekend's Northern Discomfort. Employee and customer health is of the most important during this time and having a small Tasting Room that always feels like it is overflowing is not an effective way to curb community spread and flatten the curve. The CDC released new guidance yesterday evening advising no gatherings over 50 people for the next 8 weeks which led us to this decision voluntarily.

    To be clear, we will not be halting production of beer that has currently been in planning and we will be selling off-sale bottles and crowlers directly. Our staff will work to get any beers on draft that we don't currently have into crowlers. We will be changing our hours for off-sale pickups from 12pm to 8pm every day and reassessing the situation daily. You can buy directly from store.wildmindales.com which includes 750ml bottles, crowlers, merchandise and E-gift cards. We can ship all merchandise, beer must be picked-up in person with valid ID and credit card used for the purchase. Send a message to 612-286-1777 with your order number if you purchase online and will bring it out to your vehicle.

    We are currently researching ways to deliver beer direct but current MN laws might forbid that and we'll have an update for everyone as soon as we know more on deliveries.

    For a business that relies on 95% of sales at the Tasting Room, this is a very hard decision for us and the impact will be hard. Please continue to support ALL local businesses during this difficult time.

    Thanks to everyone for their continued support and we'll see everyone again when this is all done.


    -Wild Mind

    [​IMG]
     
    Chaz likes this.
  9. mkhartnett

    mkhartnett Savant (1,160) Oct 27, 2010 Minnesota
    Trader

    Yeah. Growler of BA Darkness would be great right about now.
     
  10. MNAle

    MNAle Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2011 Minnesota

    You could still find that on the shelves a couple of days ago when I was at my local. Probably still can.
     
    Victory_Sabre1973 likes this.
  11. mkhartnett

    mkhartnett Savant (1,160) Oct 27, 2010 Minnesota
    Trader

    Yeah, but that's only 750ml. I want the economy of scale by getting larger format :stuck_out_tongue:
     
    ml6005, Victory_Sabre1973 and MNAle like this.
  12. MNAle

    MNAle Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2011 Minnesota

    There is no doubt that the goofy MN alcohol laws will hit brewers in this state unevenly during this time. Given the current laws, your online/pick-up business is limited to food and NA beverages. Worth a try, but it has to hit hard.

    It seems to me (at least at this instant in time) that those brewers who depend on traditional distribution to retail stores are in better shape than the non-distributing brewpub operations ... at least unless/until the liquor stores start closing. Yes, customers can go to their favorite small brewer and buy growlers/crowlers/750s, but how many will compared with those who go to their taprooms?

    Is that off base? (May very well be since I have no insider knowledge ...)
     
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  13. Victory_Sabre1973

    Victory_Sabre1973 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,445) Sep 15, 2015 Minnesota
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    From St. Paul Brewing, via their Facebook page:


    Saint Paul Brewing
    31 mins ·
    For the health and safety of our staff and community, we have decided to close our taproom until further notice. Growlers of our hand-crafted brews will still be available for purchase from 12-6pm daily. We wish you all the best of health and well-being during this time, and we look forward to welcoming you back into our space for a cold pint or two in the near future. Stay safe! -Saint Paul Brewing Team
     
    TrailsandAles likes this.
  14. Victory_Sabre1973

    Victory_Sabre1973 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,445) Sep 15, 2015 Minnesota
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    And also Enki Brewing:


    ENKI Brewing
    55 mins ·
    IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ON ENKI TAPROOM OPERATIONS

    Last week our taproom sales were surprisingly robust, actually higher than the prior week. Frankly, I expected to see a significant drop as the public heeded the recommendations of local and national health officials to avoid crowds and practice stringent personal hygiene measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus. I want to thank all of you for supporting ENKI Brewing and other small businesses during this difficult time.

    While I appreciate your support, I cannot in good conscience put the economic interest of ENKI Brewing ahead of the well-being of our community. I am particularly concerned that people who gather to socialize in bars and restaurants will eventually come into contact with someone that is infected with the coronavirus. Even if a person exposed to the virus is healthy and suffers minimal or even no symptoms from the disease, that person is then one more pathway for spreading the disease to a vulnerable person who will not fare so well.

    It is for this reason I have decided to limit sales to curbside pick-up of ENKI Big Cans and Food to-go. This change is going into effect immediately through March 31st. The ENKI Taproom will be closed to the public during this period. As March 31st approaches we will re-evaluate the closure based on public health guidance for community safety.

    We will provide information on how to place online orders for ENKI Big Cans and Food to-go in subsequent communications.

    Please take good care of yourselves and those around you by avoiding all unnecessary public contact to the extent that you can.

    Sincerely,
    John Hayes
    Co-Founder
    ENKI Brewing Co.
     
    SipIt likes this.
  15. Victory_Sabre1973

    Victory_Sabre1973 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,445) Sep 15, 2015 Minnesota
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    And, now, Bad Habit:


    Bad Habit Brewing Company
    17 mins ·
    Thank you all for allowing me a few minutes of your time to share an update regarding COVID-19 and what it means for Bad Habit Brewing.

    First off, I would like to express a heartfelt thank you to all our friends and family who visited us this week. It’s truly a blessing to see so many wonderful faces and loving support. Bad Habit has always prided itself on being first and foremost, a taproom driven business. We have over the last 4 years worked diligently to hire the best and most knowledgeable staff and our greatest concern is the health and safety of the employees, their families and our customers.

    Last week we implemented increased cleaning and sanitizing of shared surfaces, as well as several other changes to limit the risk for our employees and customers. With new developments this last weekend from the CDC we feel as though we weren’t doing enough to limit the close proximity of our taproom and interactions between our employees and customers. We have been busier than normal and that makes those interactions more difficult to control.

    After many discussions the last 24 hours we felt the responsibility to make an educated decision about our taproom business. This decision has not been an easy one. There is much pain in knowing we have incredible beer that is waiting to be shared with friends, family and customers in our taproom.

    The Bad Habit taproom will be closing to the public starting Wednesday March 18th. We will reassess this decision on a continuous basis as it relates to the health,
    safety, and risk to our staff, their families, & our customers.
    Starting Wednesday March 18th we will be shifting our business to off-sale (drive up crowlers and growlers) only for limited hours each day. We will be utilizing our parking lot (West entrance door) as a pick-up spot for our customers. *Details coming soon*

    We know that there are many people reading this that are in much more difficult situations than us – and our hearts are with you. Things will get better and the Bad Habit taproom will rock again! We love you all and please feel free to reach out to Aaron or Eric at any time.

    Aaron Rieland
    [email protected]
    Eric Geier
    [email protected]

    [​IMG]
    5252
     
  16. gatornation

    gatornation Grand High Pooh-Bah (10,388) Apr 18, 2007 Arizona
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Indeed Brewing just shut it down. I suspect in the coming days most bars ,restaurants will follow or be mandated to.
     
  17. Victory_Sabre1973

    Victory_Sabre1973 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,445) Sep 15, 2015 Minnesota
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    As someone who owns a restaurant, that's what I'm worried about.
     
    Chaz likes this.
  18. TrailsandAles

    TrailsandAles Aspirant (277) Sep 10, 2014 Minnesota

    Iron Exchange
    4 hrs ·
    Dear friends and family,

    It’s not an easy decision to make as a small business that relies on the patronage of its guests, but we have decided to close our doors - effective immediately - in hopes that by doing so we will be playing our part in helping to curb the spread of COVID-19.

    This is a fluid situation, and we are not sure what will happen next or how long this will last.

    As soon as we are comfortable opening the doors again, we look forward to serving you awesome beer, delicious food, and great music. Stay safe and wash your hands. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out.

    Sincerely,
    The Iron Exchange
     
  19. gatornation

    gatornation Grand High Pooh-Bah (10,388) Apr 18, 2007 Arizona
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Mayor Frey just declared a local public health emergency.
     
  20. Victory_Sabre1973

    Victory_Sabre1973 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,445) Sep 15, 2015 Minnesota
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    As did the mayor of St. Cloud.

    https://knsiradio.com/news/local-news/st-cloud-mayor-declares-local-emergency?sc_ref=facebook

    EDIT:


    Junkyard is also take out only now. Good thing I went there yesterday:


    Junkyard Brewing Company
    8 mins ·
    We will be open for OFF SALE only starting tonight, Monday, March 16th. You all know what's going on out there so we hope you understand why we are making this adjustment. Our cooler is stocked up with plenty of varieties ready to take home.
    Best wishes, -the Junkyard Crew.
     
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