04/01/2020
Brewers, Guild Partners, and Craft Beer fans:
Five years ago today, Governor Doug Ducey signed SB1030, the Arizona Beer Bill.
With that bill, Arizona raised the production cap for breweries and it elevated Arizona as a place for investment and excellence in brewing. It created blue skies for growth and investment and allowed our breweries to collaborate—sharing the sale of other brewery beer & allowing startups to open their neighborhood places with beers from their colleagues.
It was a high watermark for our collective well being.
Today, our collective action is to survive. As breweries shift from beers in the taproom, to beer to go, curbside and delivery, we must all be agile, we must be resilient, and we must build alliances.
Our challenge is to provide safe alternatives for food & beverage to go. And we must do so by aligning with your favorite restaurants. And so I ask you: ask your favorite places to carry your favorite Arizona beers.
Finally, I’m going to take a cue from my friends in Iowa, where the Iowa Brewers Guild put on a socially distant virtual beer festival. I am announcing the Arizona Virtual Beer Festival on April 18th. Buy Beer to go. Drink Beer at Home. Turn your cameras on. At the festival, you’ll be able to learn about many of our breweries as they tell, stories, provide tours and talk directly to you on their beers and how to get them.
I hope that you'll join me.
Stay tuned to find out more about our virtual online beer festival.