Molson Coors, Craft Breweries Detail Responses to Crisis

Molson Coors Beverage Co. said it is donating 50,000 cans of water to the Salvation Army Intermountain Division in Denver, Colo.  Last week the company pledged $1 million donation pledged to the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild, a nonprofit that supports bartenders and other service industry professionals.

In addition to the parent company’s actions, Molson Coors craft breweries are also responding to the Covid-19 crisis.

AC Golden is donating $20,000 to the Colorado Restaurant Association on behalf of its Colorado Native brand. The proceeds are earmarked to helping service industry members who are out of work because of state-mandated shutdowns. The Golden, Colo.-based brewery also is supporting distributors by helping with merchandising efforts in off-premise retail accounts.

Atwater Brewery, which Molson Coors said in January it would acquire in a deal expected to close in the coming weeks, is using its Detroit distillery to make hand sanitizer amid limited nationwide supply. The first of an estimated 300 bulk gallons rolled off the line this morning, and it plans to make up to 2,000 gallons next week. The brewer is working with Michigan authorities to ensure the product is distributed to areas in which there’s the most critical need.

Hop Valley Brewing, Eugene, Ore., is providing food for its local distributor to feed their warehouse crews, many of whom have been working extended hours to help meet growing demand amid consumer stock-ups in response to shelter-in-place orders. It also is partnering with its distributors to assist in retail merchandising.

Leinenkugel’s is providing 165 barrels of bulk beer to the neighboring Chippewa River Distillery in Wisconsin this week to make hand sanitizer. The Chippewa Falls brewery also is purchasing lunch all week for its brewery employees and nearby distributor partner from local restaurants that carry its beer products, with the two-pronged goal of supporting local restaurants while their on-site dining operations are halted and helping employees and distributor crews working long hours to push more beer into off-premise retailers.

Revolver Brewing is working with a nearby distillery to convert bulk beer into hand sanitizer. It also is working with distributors to feed their crews on the front lines of transporting and merchandising beer and ordering lunch for its Granbury, Texas, brewery workers daily to support local restaurants.

For every case sold out of its California tasting rooms, Saint Archer Brewing is donating $1 to United States Bartenders’ Guild. The San Diego brewery also is providing meals to retail stores and distributors and helping distributors with merchandising efforts in off-premise retailers.

Terrapin Beer Co. plans to donate a percentage of sales from its to-go beer sales to “Giving Kitchen,” an Atlanta-based nonprofit that provides emergency assistance to food service workers through financial support and a network of community resources.  The Athens, Ga., brewer is also providing meals to its production teams from local restaurants and helping distributors in portions of its footprint to make deliveries and merchandise shelves in grocery and convenience stores.

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