Ohio’s breweries are adapting their businesses after the statewide closure of bars and restaurants to slow the spread of coronavirus. Breweries are leaning on the right afforded to them by Ohio law to sell beer directly to consumers via carry out, home delivery and direct shipping.

The Ohio Department of Health issued an order on Sunday, March 15 that prohibited bars and restaurants from serving customers for consumption on premises but left open the option for carry out and delivery sales. Many Ohio breweries have instituted new procedures to offer online ordering, curbside or drive-thru pickup and even home delivery to minimize person-to-person contact and slow the spread of the virus.

The Ohio Craft Brewers Association (OCBA) is keeping track of changes to member brewery operations. Of OCBA’s 230 operating brewery members, 173 of them have changed their existing business models to sell beer for carry out or delivery. Many are offering online ordering or encouraging customers to place their orders by phone to minimize wait times and reduce points of contact. Where possible, some breweries have begun drive-thru service or curbside pickup so customers do not need to enter the premises to complete their transactions.

40 OCBA member breweries are now offering home delivery services. While most are limited to a specific delivery radius, breweries offering this service are located in 17 Ohio counties. Several more have stated that they will announce home delivery options in the coming days.

A handful of breweries have begun shipping beer direct to Ohio consumers. BrewDog USA, based in Canal Winchester, had a beer shipping program in place prior to the coronavirus outbreak. Cincinnati’s Listermann Brewing rolled out their direct shipping program this week; Urban Artifact from Cincinnati and Little Fish Brewing from Athens announced plans to begin beer shipping soon as well.

“The craft brewing industry was built on innovation,” said Mary MacDonald, OCBA’s executive director. “Breweries are leading by example by taking measures to promote social distancing to slow the spread of the virus. The effects of the state ordered closures will hit small businesses disproportionately harder, so we’re asking people to support independent breweries now so our industry will come back as strong as ever once this crisis passes.”