Cheers! Breweries in New Jersey now allowed to do home beer delivery

New Jersey breweries have been finding creative ways to turn a profit after their tasting rooms were closed during the pandemic. But now that the state has eased some rules, beer lovers can now get home delivery of the products.

“You woke up one night and realized that, OK, we can’t have people in. We can’t serve people like we are used to, so we have to change so we can survive,” says Geoff Bado, the co-owner of Zed’s Beer in Marlton.

Breweries, like other small businesses in New Jersey, are in survival mode now that social distancing laws have banned public gatherings. Zed’s is now offering curbside beer pickup.

“Most of our business is through the taproom. We were prepared to start canning at mass so we had to pivot to get that done very, very quickly,” Bado says.

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But Gov. Phil Murphy’s announcement that home delivery will now be allowed is a game-changer.

“That’s another option for them to make that sale and I do know that some breweries had been delivering under that brief moment where we could. Before we couldn’t and now we can again,” says Alexis Degan, executive director for the New Jersey Brewer’s Association. “They were able to keep some staff on and feel a little bit more financially secure, so being able to do this going forward is certainly going to be a win for the industry.”

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Tonewood Brewing in Oaklyn has maintained can sales. The brewery is also in the process of getting its home delivery service up and running.

“We haven’t quite figured that out yet, but we will be doing that within the next week or two,” Bado says.

Bado says they are in the process of getting the documentation from the New Jersey Alcohol Beverage Control before they can begin taking orders for delivery.