SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Craft breweries in the Sacramento area, like Oak Park Brewery, are reporting revenues being down as much 80 percent since coronavirus restrictions took effect.
When California Gov. Gavin Newsom first enacted the stay-at-home order, wineries and brew pubs were deemed non-essential and had to close. Prior to that, business were booming for the 81 breweries in the Sacramento region. However, taprooms, which account for much of craft breweries business, were forced to close across California..
"We scaled back the amount of beer that we were brewing for a couple weeks," said Jeff Scott, with Oak Park Brewery.
Device Brewing, on the other hand, have gotten creative and have taken advantage of home deliveries. California's Alcohol Beverage Control lifted certain restrictions to help ease the financial burden for businesses across California.
"We've been doing beer to go, we've been filling growlers and crowlers to go, it's certainly not the same as it was before," Ken Anthony, owner of Device Brewing, said.
As the state begins to ease restrictions, local brewers are making plans to re-open, but they're still unsure how that will look exactly. Brewers also have fears that the financial impact on some of their fellow beer makers could force some businesses to fold.
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