July and August Newsletter FRANK B.FUHRER WHOLESALE COMPANY
FRANK B.FUHRER WHOLESALE COMPANY July and August Newsletter By Mike Pomranz How Will Coronavirus Impact Craft Beer? Updated June 23, 2020 Brewers Association predictions suggest small brewers need your support now more than ever. For generations, in times of stress, beer has offered an outlet: a chance to relax and a chance to socialize. Unfortunately, in these stressful times of social distancing, quarantines, and bar closures, 7/01/2020 the coronavirus has stripped beer of half its powers: It can still intoxicate, but it shouldn’t socially lubricate. So the question becomes what does that mean for the brewing industry? Clearly, fewer Inside this issue: people will be going out to drink, but will more people be stockpiling at home? And what about smaller breweries that rely on taproom sales? COORS/DIAGEO/ 2-5 Yesterday, Bart Watson—chief economist for the craft beer trade group the Brewers Association BOSTON DIVISION (BA)—weighed in on “The Coming Economic Challenges Facing Craft Brewers.” Despite the title of his analysis, his assessment was about as upbeat as things can be at a time when entire industries are YUENGLING/ 6-13 at risk of getting decimated. Two things appear to work in beer’s advantage: One, it’s the kind of IMPORT/ CRAFT item some people may want to be well-stocked with during an emergency, and two, even in times of ANHUESER 14-18 economic trouble, people don’t necessarily give up their brewskis. BUSCH DIVISION Of course, on-premise sales at bars, restaurants, and breweries are in trouble, and Watson didn’t pull BREWERY NEWS 19-23 any punches, saying sales “are certain to fall.” And yet, for breweries that package their beer, “the short-term effects may be more mixed.” “Some consumers may actually buy more beer as they prepare to self-isolate,” he writes.
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