With the taps of local bars and restaurants cut off, local breweries, distilleries, liquor stores and other businesses serving non-alcoholic beverages have had to find new ways of getting their product to the people in one form or another. No longer are we heading out to try a tasting flight at a brewery or meeting up with friends over a craft beer, or non-alcoholic spirits at the bar.
But as brewers and distillers adjust their production to match the lack of taps, that doesn’t mean the demand for tasty brews or non-alcoholic bevvies are gone. And if we want to be able to continue enjoying these local beverages once the crisis has lifted, we have to support them through the tough times.
Here are a few different ways you can say “cheers” to the brewers and producers nearby:
Almost every craft brewery in Edmonton is doing some form of delivery service (often with minimum dollar spend), so check in with your favourites to see what they have on offer. Many breweries even offer same-day delivery if ordered in time, so you won’t have to wait too long to get a can of frothy goodness in your hands.
Here’s a short list of local breweries offering online ordering, and delivery in-town:
| Odd Company | |
| Sea Change Brewing Co. | |
| Biera/ Blind Enthusiasm | |
| Situation Brewing | |
| SYC Brewing | |
On the other hand, if you want a full beer-delivery experience that lets you sample brews from multiple Alberta breweries, check out Plaza Bowl, who have had to find a new way of adapting entirely given there isn’t the ability to bowl from a social distance. Always a supporter of craft beer and local food, the good folks at Plaza Bowl will deliver beer to your doorstep contact-free. They’ve also scored some Local Good points by banding together to support other small businesses with limited access to delivery service, such as delivering the most classic of beer food—pretzels—across the city for National Pretzel Day on behalf of Zwick’s Pretzels.
Wine and other beverages more to your taste? Local #yegdrinks legends Sherbrooke Liquor and Color De Vino offer same-day or next-day delivery service on a minimum purchase on certain days of the week so you can continue to toast to the good times at a distance.
Not into these beverages but want to help out these and other #yegdrinks community supporters in a different way? Buy some product from local distillers Strathcona Spirits, who have risen to the problem of hand sanitizer shortages by creating a hand sanitizer from an alcohol waste by-product that abides by the World Health Organization’s standards for hand-rub formulation. There’s also #yeg’s Boocha (boocha.ca) for those early-morning thirst indulgences, and if you’re looking for a great new (sober) crew, check in with the folks at Sober Saturdayz, a great local organization focusing on bringing non-alcoholic products to merchandisers across Canada.
Cheers!