Serving Smiles One Beer at a Time
As with many industries, Dry Dock Brewing Co. and the beer industry in general was rocked by the twists, turns, and challenges of 2020. It’s hard to remember that as 2019 was wrapping up, we had so much to look forward to in the coming year.
We are a medium-sized brewery that distributes our craft beer exclusively in Colorado. Our business model depends on beer sales to bars, restaurants and liquor and grocery stores throughout the state, as well as through both of our tasting rooms in Aurora, CO. 2020 was supposed to be an exciting milestone for us with its promise of our 15th Anniversary and the launch of our rebrand and hard seltzer line Mysters.
The news of COVID-19’s arrival in our state struck us with fear and uncertainty. With the first shutdown in mid-March, we had to lay off an unsettling amount of our tasting room staff. Closing the doors at both of our tasting room locations meant losing a significant portion of the revenue that supports our operating costs. “Survival Mode” kicked in, and we were desperate to find answers to new and unfamiliar problems. Our sister company, The Brew Hut, saw a significant increase in business as homebrewers and wine makers were going to be staying home and crafting their next batch. Our community was back to enjoying their hobby as they stayed at home.
We quickly realized we had both challenges and community support. With our Governor’s ever-changing guidance and regulations, we knew it would be extremely difficult to get through this pandemic. However, the unwavering support of our community gave us hope that we would make it. As weeks passed, we learned to adjust our sails to navigate this new normal: moving team meetings to Google meets, shifting our business for crowlers to go, hosting virtual bingo for our customers on Facebook Live, offering a beer delivery service to local neighborhoods, and providing curbside pickup for those at higher risk. While in lockdown, our goal was to be the highlight of people’s day! We even gained a new customer by surprising him on his 21st birthday, by doing a caravan drive-by and dropping off beer for a milestone birthday during lockdown.
Regardless of how hard we thought it might be, it compares nothing to what our frontline healthcare workers were experiencing. No act of kindness can show our nation's true gratitude for all their hard work, but we certainly tried doing our part to be a bright spot in their day. We hope our donation of 1,602 six packs to front line responders helped put a smile on their face and allowed them to unwind at the end of a shift.
In 2020, it seemed like every week the pendulum swung a different way. Through all of the ups and downs, we could always count on one thing: the love and support of our incredible community. With utmost gratitude, we are still here today to tell our story.
