My inbox is STUFFED with messages from a legion of concerned Blockchain Beerologist fans hoping I am alright, and still sampling the suddsy scrumptuousness. Worry not! The beer is plentiful.....just different!
Source: https://www.pinterest.pt/goldensaintbeer/ with a little Zeke design on top.
How does a world-renowned beer blogger and social butterfly deal with social distancing, closed tap rooms and a global pandemic? Well I tell you the beer certainly helps. I think I have actually gone out and purchased 2-weeks worth of beer three times already this week!
Much of it is consumed where I sit now, which is in front of the computer which I use for business, communication, video streaming, entertainment and almost everything short of getting out to socialize in gatherings (not wise right now.) I have also been able to double down on my efforts to support small businesses and spend perhaps less wife points on beer as I aggrandize the ethical merit of filling my fridge with local products.
I will cover one of my initiatives here. What a time to be alive!
Operation Revival House!
This craft beer festival was what was supposed to happen a couple weeks ago. Your truly was the celebrity beerologist in charge of coordinating the brewers, organizing the event, and promoting it all over social media INCLUDING blockchain (which is obviously my jam.) We had over a dozen of the best craft breweries in the area on board and the buzz was building. We even augmented those particpating with a couple non-beer craft beverage makers that were on board to make this event even more inclusive than the last with craft hard beverages, a cider house, and a local distillery. This was going to be the best one yet!
Then the lock-down happened.
This is what happened next.
With every possible festival, event or fine dining attendee now responsibly distancing themselves from spectacles and venues like https://revival.house, you could pretty much assume this business was, for the foreseeable future, dead in the water. Short-short term profit and personal safety concerns would make this a fairly straight-forward business decision for many.
Not This Guy
It started with a declaration something like, "We are going to socially distance ourselves but spend 8 hours per business day, at the restaurant, doing something productive" and kept going from there. Great story short, restauranteur Rob Wigan and the team:
- sanitized the place from cellar to rafter
- completely rethought the menu
- transformed the business model temporarily
- promoted and launched socially distanced delivery/pick-up service
This happened within the span of about 7 days and was welcomed with a swell of support from such a supportive community. It is a story we will tell in greater detail as it is still unfolding, and I should get back to the beer.
Four Fathers Brewing Company https://fourfathersbrewing.ca/ was one of the first few regional craft breweries I had the pleasure of welcoming to the beer festival. As a Stratford-based Beerologist, I had come across Four Fathers in my travels but only recently been able to enjoy it on tap, locally. I might be enjoying one, mid-evening downtown if it was a couple months ago, or maybe in a few months?
Blogger's camera roll to the rescue. This is a tasty session IPA I can't seem to find on the website as I got lost roaming through the Past Brews page https://fourfathersbrewing.ca/pastbrews/ It really lets you know how progressive and experimental they have enabled the brewers to be over the last while. Super tasty crushable brew that is presently lined up on the Revival House Craft Beer tap row, longing for a session with you.
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Here is a shot from the last session I had at https://www.thehubstratford.com with some buddies watching a UFC event. As you may be able to see, all not all of my friends have as refined a palette as I do but to each their own. My goal is to have the OV drinkers try and convert to the clean and tasty lagers and ales of these great craft breweries.
So, you can see my hands have not been idle as I have poured my efforts into supporting the local beer providers. Thanks to the efforts of the restaurants and breweries I support, one of those hands is often filled with a pint of delicious, local goodness.
I will concentrate my blog efforts to support these small businesses that really need our help. The link backs to their websites help with search engine optimization and I would encourage you to click them as you consume new content and learn new things while in quarantine/isolation.
Truth is that most restaurants and breweries have paused themselves and we are hoping that it is not for good.
To put it into perspective, it is estimated that up to 18% of our restaurants could shutter for good ( https://www.linkedin.com/feed/news/can-restaurants-be-saved-4804836/?fbclid=IwAR2r899XQX9D9TUoghVlysPwSn4X078764ZXWo1pf-R0LPBqjUBguk1oMoc) because of what is happening right now. Please support your local restaurants and breweries. Message or reply if there are virtual tours I can take and I can write a report on your favorite one.
This beerologist would highly recommend you ready the stories tagged #beersaturday, follow my drinkin' buddy @detlev, and write a beer blog of your own. Hive.io is the perfect platform to turn your functional, recreational alcoholism into a trendy and potentially profitable beer blog of your own!
Stay safe and suddsy my friends. CHEERS!
Awesome to be back!
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