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BEST BREWERS IN THE STATE, ALL FOR A GOOD CAUSE LIKE MANY INDUSTRIES, BREWERIES ARE FACING A GRIM REALIT >> IT HAS BEEN TRAGIC, I MEAN, TO BE HONEST. MIKE C: SCHILLING BEER COMPANY IN LITTLETON STILL HAS MORE THAN A DOZEN STAFF, BOTTLING AND DISTRIBUTING ITS PRODUCT. BUT NOT MANY OF ITS PEERS CAN SAY THE SAME JEFF: WITHIN OUR ASSOCIATION, THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 65 BREWERIES, AND ROUGHLY HALF OF THOSE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LAID OFF, AT LEAST THE STAFF WITHIN THOSE BREWERIES. MIKE C: THE NEW HAMPSHIRE BREWERS ASSOCIATION ESTIMATES 2500 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LAID OFF IN AN INDUSTRY GENERATING 450 MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY IN THE STAT CJ: THE INATE ABILITY OF BEER HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER. MIKE C: CJ HAINES IS HELPING LEAD AN EFFORT TO REUNITE BEER LOVERS THROUGH A VIRTUAL BEER FESTIVAL. CJ: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUR FESTIVAL AND MANY OTHER FESTIVALS IS THAT YOU GET THE EXPERIENCE OF ACTUALLY TALKING AND ENGAGING WITH THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BREWING THE BEER AS WELL AS WITH WHO OWNS THE BREWERY. MIKE C: INSTEAD OF TRAVELING TENT TO TENT, FESTIVAL GOERS WILL GO POST TO POST, ONLINE. AND IF YOU DON’T HAVE YOU FAVORITE BREW ON TAP, BREWERIES SAY THEY ARE OFFERING CURB SIDE PICK UP AND DELIVERY. CJ: RIGHT NOW, THERE’S DEFINITELY A VIBE THROUGHOUT OUR INDUSTRY THAT THE OWNERS AND BREWERIES MISS THE PATRONAGE OF THEIR REGULARS, IN FACT, AND THE REGULARS ARE MISSING GOING TO THE TASTING ROOMS AND ENJOYING A PINT. MIKE C: PORTIONS OF THE FESTIVAL’S PROCEEDS WILL GO TO THE NEW HAMPSHIRE EMPLOYEE HOSPITALITY RELIEF FUND. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, FIND A

Advertisement Virtual beer festival aims to help NH brewers Many breweries lay off workers amid COVID-19 crisis Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A virtual beer festival is being planned to help raise money for hospitality workers who have lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic.>> Download the free WMUR appThe New Hampshire Brewers Association estimates that thousands of jobs have been lost in a once-thriving industry in the state. The group is now asking Granite Staters to stay home, crack open a beer and interact with some of the best brewers in the state for a good cause.>> How to participate: Keep NH Brewing Virtual Beer FestivalSchilling Beer Co. in Littleton still has more than a dozen staff members bottling and distributing its product, but not many of its peers can say the same."Within our association, there are approximately 65 breweries, and roughly half of those people have been laid off, at least the staff within those breweries," Schilling Beer Co. CEO Jeff Cozzens said.The New Hampshire Brewers Association estimates that 2,500 people have been laid off in an industry that generates $450 million annually."The innate ability of beer has always been to bring people together," said CJ Haines, executive director of the New Hampshire Brewers Association.Haines is helping lead an effort to reunite beer lovers through a virtual beer festival."The difference between our festival and many other festivals is that you get the experience of actually talking and engaging with the people who are brewing the beer, as well as with who owns the brewery," she said.Instead of traveling from tent to tent, festivalgoers at the Keep New Hampshire Brewing Virtual Beer Festival will go post to post online. If you don't have your favorite brew on tap at home, several breweries are offering curbside pickup and delivery."Right now there's definitely a vibe throughout our industry that the owners and breweries miss the patronage of their regulars, and the regulars are missing going to the tasting rooms and enjoying a pint," Haines said.Portions of the festivals proceeds will go to the New Hampshire Hospitality Employee Relief Fund.