Beer Drive-Thru This Saturday
You can support six Milwaukee breweries by picking up some beer at a drive-thru in St. Francis.
Beer Drive Thru. Image by New Barons Brewing Cooperative.
You’ll be able to get beer in a drive-thru this weekend.
A handful of Milwaukee breweries have banded together and are setting up a beer drive-thru this Saturday, March 28th at 3807 S. Packard Ave., outside Faklandia Brewing in St. Francis, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The move comes about as a response to difficulties generating sales during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event is being organized by the New Barons Brewing Cooperative. In a Facebook post announcing the event, the group said that small, local craft breweries are seeing their sales drop by 80 to 100 percent because of the shutdown. “Everyone’s kinda in a tight spot,” said John Degroote, head brewer for New Barons.
“Luckily, in the beer industry, we have pre-packaged product that is manufactured with the most professional level of sanitation,” the Facebook post reads.
Many breweries are already doing curbside pickup. So, the drive-thru is for people to “follow the rules” and “stay safe”, but also, help out these local breweries said Degroote.
MobCraft Beer, Broken Bat Brewing, The Fermentorium, Explorium Brewpub, Gathering Place Brewing Company and New Barons are all scheduled to participate. A single style of beer from each brewery will be available. Fakandia, which has yet to open, will be selling merchandise.
“This is kinda what we do,” Degroote said. New Baron’s was founded as a coop with a mission of supporting the local community. And he said they’ve been helped by many in the local brewing industry over the years. “We just wanted to pay it forward.”
The drive-thru will work exactly how it sounds. There will be a queue when you enter the parking lot. You’ll see a menu, then wait your turn. Then you’ll pick up and pay for your beer, all without leaving your car.
There will only be five people at any given time working the drive-thru, to maintain social distancing. And those on hand will frequently sanitize the tables and containers. They will also sanitize their hands and change their gloves between each car.
So, if you’d like to support some local breweries this Saturday, hit the drive-thru.
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