What To Expect When You're Expecting to Reopen

New School Beer's Fireside Chats video discussion series returns with Adam Robbings of Reuben's Brews in Seattle and Adam Milne of Old Town Brewing in Portland.

Last weekend Reuben's Brews began reopening for on-premise beers at their Ballard neighborhood taproom. This week Portland joins the rest of the pacific northwest in partially reopening in the post pandemic world. The time seemed ripe to see what brewery owners from each city could learn from each other.

https://youtu.be/2K9kVwiWFcY

Adam Milne was ready to reopen Old Town Brewing last Friday, when Multnomah County was expecting to get the go ahead from the Governor. That didn't happen. Unlike Reuben's Brews, Old Town Brewing relies on their pub business as a primary means of sales. While both breweries package beers, the percentage of sales off-premise in packaged beers versus on-premise draft beer is nearly a complete opposite in the 70/30 % range.

The contrasts between Reuben's Brews and Old Town Brewing are evident, which only makes the conversation and trade of ideas all the more interesting.

Both breweries shifted to different pick-up options: Reuben's Brews opened a to-go marketplace window that allowed consumers to never enter into an indoor space. Old Town Brewing created a drive-thru brewers marketplace for customers to pick-up beer without ever leaving their vehicles.

Fascinatingly, Reuben's Brews has shifted to table service in the wake of the pandemic, while Old Town Brewing will shift from table service to counter ordering instead. Both business owners flip flopped from their previous taproom systems with the same goals of conducting safe and fluid business practices during the pandemic. Each brewery reached different conclusions, but through the same thought process.

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