COVID-19 shuts down WV bars, taprooms

With Governor Jim Justice’s announcement this evening that he has ordered the shutdown of the on-premise business at all West Virginia bars and restaurants, all the state’s brewery taprooms and winery and distillery tasting rooms, undoubtedly, come under this mandate. The shutdown is an attempt to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

No expected duration was announced, but it appears that the shutdown will continue until public health authorities feel the pandemic’s threat has passed. The governor said the state would allow all restaurants to continue their takeout business.

UPDATE 03/18/20:
Updated listing of brewery taproom hours for carryout sales.

Support is needed for our craft beverage industry

Since just about every one of the state’s craft beverage producers are small, locally-owned businesses, this on-premise business shutdown will be very tough on them. They need your support now more than ever.

During this shutdown period, Brilliant Stream encourages craft beer fans and other craft beverage fans to continue to support our local breweries, wineries, cideries, and distilleries as much as you can while adhering to the public safety rules. Since at present only the on-premise sales and consumption are prohibited, it appears you could still go to a taproom, tavern, or retailer and purchase beer, wine, and spirits to carry out and take home. That hopefully would include growler sales in addition to cans and bottles.

Watch the social media posts of your favorite craft beverage producers, restaurants, and bottle/growler shops for their hours of business, which may change during this crisis.

Beer Festivals Postponed

Three WV beer festivals have announced postponement/cancellation or shutdown of ticket sales. If they are cancelled, there is no assurance that the festivals will be able to be rescheduled this year. These include:

• BrewFest CharlieWest, originally scheduled for April 5;
• West Virginia Craft Beer Festival, Lewisburg, originally April 25;
• Foam at the Dome, Charleston, suspends ticket sales, original date May 2.

BrewFest CharlieWest is caught up in the national shutdown of minor league baseball. The team released this statement: “In conjunction with Minor League Baseball’s announcement that the start of the 2020 season has been delayed indefinitely, the West Virginia Power has made several changes to upcoming events at Appalachian Power Park, as well as shut down certain parts of its facility for the time being.“

The West Virginia Craft Brew Festival released this statement. “As COVID-19 continues to spread internationally and in the United States the CDC has advised that large events scheduled for the next eight weeks should be canceled or postponed. Therefore, WV Craft Brew Festival has been postponed indefinitely.” The festival will make refunds to advance ticket purchasers.

Foam at the Dome released this announcement about the hold on ticket sales. “Due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 outbreak and mitigation polices suggested by the State of West Virginia and the City of Charleston, Charleston Main Streets (CMS) is continuing to assess upcoming events, including Foam at the Dome, slated for May 2. While we explore alternative dates and monitor the situation, we have suspended registration for Foam at the Dome. Public safety is our highest priority. We’ll continue to post updates over the coming weeks.“

---

Charles Johnson, an attorney with Frost Todd Brown in Charleston, posted a helpful summary of the alcohol industry’s reaction to COVID-19 issues. You can read it here.