OnTap Magazine

s I am writing this, the world is in a very strange and uncertain state. It is impossible to say what South Africa’s lockdown will look like by the time you read this since so much is unknown and stands to change at a moment’s notice. One thing is almost certain though: normality won’t resume for some time to come. The blanket ban on alcohol has had a devastating effect on the craft beer industry. Whether it was a fair and just decision will always be subjective. Suffice it to say, the massive diversity in socio- economic conditions of South Africans means that our situation is more complex and difficult to manage than in many other countries. However, the ban has limited the options available to craft brewers to ensure their survival. MAKING A PLAN Each brewery will be working on strategies which they can pursue when the lockdown is lifted but social distancing will still be required. This will potentially involve brewers having to change their route to market, packaging formats, customer interaction and business models. The success of many new strategies will be reliant on regulatory intervention from government toease restrictions of the liquor act and allow brewers greater freedom to explore different routes to market. Many governments around the world have done so and subsequently breweries have been able to adopt innovative ways of getting beer to consumers safely and responsibly. Examples include home delivery or curb-side pickup offered by breweries and bars after governments temporarily expanded their licences to include off-con sales. This has helped with the immediate survival of breweries while the world seeks more sustainable solutions to continuing life during the pandemic. In South Africa, many breweries will be faced with the harsh reality of not being able to continue trading. By the time you read this it is likely that some will have had to make the difficult decision to close. For those that survive there will be a long road to recovery – not helped by what is certain to be a severely damaged national economy. For those of us that care about craft beer, whochoose todrink interestingandflavourful beer and to support small local businesses, this will be a big step backwards. For various reasons the South African craft beer environment lags in development compared to its US and European counterparts. Another stumbling block – such as the one that we are experiencing now – will set us back even further, and our fledgling industry really needs to get through this largely intact if we are to continue to grow and develop. This is where you and I, as consumers, have the power to make a massive difference. We will ultimately be the ones who decide how much of the industry survives. Only through our support can the breweries keep fighting and begin the process of recovery. Here are some things you can do to help save this industry we love: BUY MORE CRAFT BEER While seemingly obvious, there are some specific ways in which you can maximize your impact. For instance, switching your macro brewed lager for more craft beer. We all like to have some base level macro lagers for casual drinking, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, if we redirect that spending to craft beer purchases for a couple of months it will go a long way in assisting small brewers in their recovery efforts. A struggling economy will mean that many of us will need to be more frugal with our spending, but it is important that we do spend to get industry going again. This is a good opportunity to carefully consider where you spend your money and which businesses you would like to support. This may mean drinking less overall, but choosing to drink products which support small business. Many small breweries have started online shopping platforms on their websites. This offers consumers a way to buy directly from the brewery, often at a special rate. Brewers are trying to accommodate people's diminished bank accounts with discount deals and free delivery options. BUY LOCAL Buy your beer as close to the source as you can, whether this means in the same town or the same province as the brewery, or best of all directly from the brewery itself where possible. Generally this means more margin on the price of the beers will go to the brewery. For you this means you will likely also get the freshest beer. BUY BREWERY MERCHANDISE This helps brewers in a number of ways. They are able to make a good margin on the product and sell direct to the consumer, and there is no excise duty. Also, the wearer does some much needed promotion of the brewery with no effort at all. Brewery swag is a great way to show your support for this small but passionate industry. SOCIAL MEDIA SUPPORT Follow the brewers through the various social media platforms to find out what they are up to and how best you can support them. Share and spread the word to help generate interest for your favourite breweries, and for craft beer in general. SPREAD THE WORD Now is really the time to introduce friends and family to the wonderful world of beer beyond pale lagers. Since social distancing will likely be in place for a while, a great option is to do a virtual beer tasting. Get your friends to buy the same selection of beers and taste them together over a video call – it might be closest we get for a while. Craft beer is about the people which make up the industry. It is a product which has a natural social element, amplified by the explicit connection between the brewery teams and the products they produce. It offers us the chance to be part of something, to connect with people on a human level through the product. I believe we will truly see the value in this during this time of social distancing. Although it is difficult to see at the moment, there are also some potential long term positive developments. As they say, out of crisis comes opportunity. So, if we can fight our way through this together we might well be on the path to a craft beer industry better and stronger than ever before. Please support craft breweries, and keep beer interesting! Introduce friends and family to the wonderful world of beer A OPINION 56 | Winter 2020 | ontapmag.co.za