How is Coronavirus Impacting Ticking

The list of exceptions had been updated - off-licences, including brewery shops, can remain open.

The new list of shops that have to shut is:

Stamp Shops

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Some great news, completely essential to open off licenses. Know of any brewery shops that will actually want to reopen ?

A lot of craft places seem to have decided to take the moral highground and are staying shut. I reckon it’s mainly going to be the little local offies that sell 20 different types of special brew that reopen.

Cycling about the tiny hamlets of Shropshire today I passed a village shop (basically a shed next to a gastro-pub) that was open, with around 15 picnic benches outside, many people drinking bottled beer and cider they bought in there… I guess that’s one way to get round the pub ban. Personally, after reading more about this virus, I’d quite like to not catch it. So I decided not to stop.

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They would have got moved on if the police turned up.

Some people were having a BBQ in a local park and refused to stop. In the end the police pushed the BBQ over.

I am planning my next purchases.

Emsworth Brewhouse near Havant are doing mailorder. I could save money by going for the free delivery to a colleague’s house but I don’t want to wait 4 months. And Makemake in Portsmouth are doing local delivery only so may risk that one.

Delphic in Thatcham don’t bottle but are doing free delivery on 5l bag in boxes. They do mention they could arrange deliveries further than miles but 32 may be pushing it.

Now to look up the other brewries in Hants and Berks I need to tick off.

Far from convinced that off licenses should be considered as essential services, but glad if it helps to keep some breweries and small businesses going through this.

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Not going out so doing a bit more drinking at home. So that’s a mix of digging into the cellar and drinking recent fresh pick-ups. Have definitely front-loaded my beer buying for the next couple weeks.

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Same here, two online orders last week and probably will put in another one or two over the weekend.

I did one order in preparation for working from home plus dropped into Elusive and Siren breweries. Have placed three more orders since working from home.

And just placed an order this morning having spotted that a Hampshire winery also brews a beer and a cider. Will also order from Emsworth Brewhouse later as I have yet to have one of their beers.

May order from a Berks brewery I have yet to tick off but am less inclined to seeing as their Twitter accounts suggest that Covid-19 is just press hysteria.

However as I am not spending £10 a day on coffee and food + petrol I deiced to alloy myself extra beer and music.

@minutemat has just delivered a pleasant package of goodies to help me (and himself of course) through the ‘blockage’ or what ever it’s called. He has had to shut Chez Sophie, but he decided to self deliver his beer stock to his trusted customers. Hopefully he’ll be OK health and business wise when this is all over.

<*))))))><

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I was lucky enough to sneak into Shrewsbury and a couple beers at Chez Sophie right before this whole thing kicked off. Incredible place. Stay safe @minutemat and hope to see you on the other side of this mess.

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life has suddenly got better. government worked out you can stop uk population doing some things but alcohol is clearly a must have.

several breweries in Kent are doing take out from their front shops. Larkin’s Tonbridge and Gadds are a few I have seen. some micropubs are doing takeout . bring a container and they fill it with fresh cask beer.

I’m finally burning thru some of my rot box, sometimes it gets overwhelming to see just how much I have to drink. I’ve also been doing my part to make online orders where I can, but fear that some breweries may not return when/if we recover from this dreadful time.

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I am quite aware that my stash may not last me through to the end of this, baring in mind we have at least another 5-6 weeks of this, minimum. So I’ve been digging into my “aging” stash… basically about 2 1/2 crates of various beer I put aside to see how it aged. All are about 4-5 years old now, so this whole crisis is probably a good excuse to tuck in them.

Cracked a bottle of Salopian Slipstream, a blood orange IPA, which was properly opaque, cloudy, smoothie-like when it was released… Poured it out and it was completely clear. Bizarre. Very bitter and pithy, but still drinkable, no off flavours.

Another was Evil Twin’s Christmas Eve at a New York City Hotel Room… fabulously full flavoured Imperial stout. Aged nicely over 5 years, much more tobacco and woody earthy tannin than before. Excellent.

Then last night I had Siren’s 5 Alarm, a chili stout. 4 years has seen it develop fiery chili heat… but still retaining the tomatoey undertones.

Glad I decided to age these…

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I too have been fingering my ‘ageing beers’ and wondering if I should attack them. I will hold off for April and see if there is ‘a light at the end of the tunnel’ before actually cracking some open.

<*))))))><

I intend to celebrate the end of lockdown by sharing my bottle of Eldridge Pope Thomas Hardy Ale 1996 with a friend. He’s responding by sharing his bottle of Labietis Lentenu Kavejs …

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I have had a Beerwulf delivery of largely Dutch dark beers and also succumbed to a Brewdog invitation to check off some of the ones I haven’t tried. So that plus my store will see me through the first month of lockdown, mainly because I will be going on an alternating scheduled of no beer and one beer to offset the fact that these cans are not my usual third.
I can turn in month 2 to local brewers for second sippings just to ensure that they stay the course. But if lockdown goes into the summer (and it might) we will lose people and craft breweries.

My good lady is helping out at a local Medical Centre twice a week. No patient contact, but sorting out the mail behind closed doors. Her nursing experience ensuring the correct people see the post and other stuff is transferred to peoples records.

She doesn’t like to drink the day before working, so we are both having at least two days without alcohol to ensure this and preserve stock.

<*))))))><

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