© Marc Bona, cleveland.com/Marc Bona, cleveland.com/cleveland.com/TNS Canton Brewing Co. decided to close down for now.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Local craft breweries appear to be dealing with the shutdown of restaurants and bars in a variety of ways.

Brewpubs that serve food fall under the same restriction as restaurants - that is, as of this past Sunday night, they are closed but allowed to offer delivery, to-go orders or drive-through options. But breweries are permitted to keep producing their suds in this age of coronavirus, so if you are not familiar with growlers and crowlers, now's your chance.

© Marc Bona, cleveland.com/Marc Bona, cleveland.com/cleveland.com/TNS HiHO Brewing is one of several breweries offering gift cards.

1. PRODUCTION IS ALLOWED

Breweries that distribute cans or bottles to stores can continue to do so. In Northeast Ohio, this covers a lot of breweries.

Cleveland-based Great Lakes Brewing Co., Market Garden Brewery and Platform Beer Co. all have very established distribution footholds, as does Fat Head's Brewery in Middleburg Heights, Hoppin' Frog Brewery and Thirsty Dog Brewery in Akron, and many others. Production amount doesn't matter. Breweries can still produce their four- and six-packs, bomber bottles and other sizes and send them to area stores.

© Wire Services/Marc Bona, cleveland.com/cleveland.com/TNS If the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's workforce is affected, beer labels might be delayed.

"Supply lines are still fully functional, thank goodness," said Sam McNulty of Market Garden Brewery. "We're ramping up production. Obviously if you can't go to a bar or your favorite restaurant, people aren’t going to stop enjoying local beer; they will enjoy it at home."

© Wire Services/Marc Bona, cleveland.com/cleveland.com/TNS Do you know your growlers from your crowlers?

He said he and his staff emptied out and cleaned draft lines in their Ohio City production brewery while most of the usually bustling neighborhood remains quiet.

"It's been very quiet on the entire street outside of the West Side Market," he said. "The entire street feels like a post-apocalyptic movie."

2. PICKUP ORDERS

When the owners of Planted Flag Brewing chose an opening date, they had no idea it would turn out to be the first full day of Ohio's restaurants-shutdown order. The brewery, at 3594 Pearl Road in Medina, was supposed to open March 16.

Owners Aaron and Karen Wirtz are keeping a positive attitude.

"We decided to move forward," Aaron Wirtz said. They are offering growler sales 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and kitchen orders 5 to 8 p.m. on the same days. They don’t have a full-time kitchen staff, but "We want to pay the bills and keep the lights on," he said.

© Marc Bona, cleveland.com/Marc Bona, cleveland.com/cleveland.com/TNS Platform Beer Co. is delivering to residences.

It's as if the brewery is having "an extended soft opening," Wirtz added, saying "It's a good opportunity to meet folks one on one" rather than losing some of the intimacy at a larger formal opening.

© Marc Bona, cleveland.com/Marc Bona, cleveland.com/cleveland.com/TNS Forest City Brewery is offering discounts to those who donate blood.

Wirtz is keen on recognizing his lineage and on building relationships, and is quick to credit area breweries for helping out in a pinch.

© Marc Bona, cleveland.com/Marc Bona, cleveland.com/cleveland.com/TNS Market Garden Brewery is one of many breweries still producing beer.

"We didn’t have growlers," he said. "I hadn’t anticipated doing growler fills 'cause I didn’t know if I had enough beer to do that. Hoppin' Frog saw us on social media and stepped up and sold us growlers." He added the Jolly Scholar's Matt Vann lent a seamer for cans.

If the shutdown drags on and they lose beer they will explore disaster-assistance avenues, he added.

He said he has overcome his initial reaction - disappointment - to the shutdown announcement.

"It was more or less a little bit of helplessness," he said. "At the same time I calmed down and recognized that everyone else is going through this. … I told my family it's going to be OK, we have each other." He told his kids about his great-grandfather, who "had been through a lot," enduring the Great Depression and other hardships.

"We just haven’t experienced this in our lifetime," he said. "This is just the way it is.

Our family survived and will again."

Forest City Brewery, which created a pickup location for growlers of its own beer and POC Pilsner six-packs, is offering discounts on Thursdays for those who have given blood.

© cleveland.com collage/cleveland.com/TNS We offer seven things to know about how breweries are dealing with the restaurants-bars shutdown in light of coronavirus. Reactions are mixed based on distribution and other factors.

Non-profits are important to Demagall. Many use space at the brewery to hold meetings and events.

"I just saw there was a need for blood," he said. "I thought maybe this is one way to give an incentive that there is a need out there."

The brewery is offering pickup at 2135 Columbus Road and is open 4-8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 2-9 p.m. Saturday and 2-6 p.m. Sunday. (The brewery asks customers to bring their own growler this week, and will sell new ones next week.) It also offers growler delivery to the Duck Island and Tremont neighborhoods.

Paladin Brewing in Youngstown also is offering growler and crowler fills, said the brewery's Abby Chandler. To-go sales are offered until 8 p.m., she said, but they will stay open later if the need warrants it.

"We did really well for the first hour (Wednesday)," said Chandler, who said Paladin is one of the few breweries offering crowlers. "Right now this is solid plan for us."

Unlike larger breweries, Paladin is not distributed in stores, so this is the only sales avenue available to the brewery.

"It's hard because nobody knows how long this is going to last," she said. "It's a lovely little roller coaster."

3. HOME DELIVERY

Platform Beer Co. is offering free home delivery.

“We’re really good at delivering beer,” co-owner Paul Benner told cleveland.com’s Anne Nickoloff. “We’ve been doing it for five years for retailers. We’ve got the logistics in place to handle a large number of orders… We’re just tweaking that to accommodate for home delivery.”

The Ohio Craft Brewers Association says 40 of its member breweries in 17 counties are offering home-delivery services.

Related coverage: Platform Beer Co. is offering free home delivery

More info: OCBA's list of breweries offering carryout and delivery

4. SIZE PRIMER

For those who are not used to the various to-go containers, here is a quick guide:

Growler: 64-ounce bottle.

Crowler: 32-ounce can.

Howler: 32-ounce bottle.

Prowler: 64-ounce plastic jug.

The containers allow for craft beer to go directly from a brewer's tap to your vessel and then to your fridge - or glass. Growlers can be reused, cleaned and brought back for fills. Crowlers are used once and then recycled; they have a similar pull-tab as a 12-ounce can. Note: Once you open a growler the shelf-life clock starts ticking. Exact shelf life is difficult to determine and depends on the beer style (hoppy styles might lose flavor quicker than, say, an Imperial Stout).

Note: Not every brewery offers every size, and not everyone offers all of its beers on tap in growlers. So call ahead to confirm what you want is offered the way you want it.

5. ONE POSSIBLE DELAY DOWN THE ROAD

A residual effect on breweries from coronavirus restrictions might be if the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau - which approves labels and names at the federal level - is hit with workforce reductions.

This has happened in recent years. When the government shuts down, label approval is halted. No approval, no new beer. It's essentially planes circling the airport. This hurt smaller breweries with just a few beers in the market. But larger ones could keep producing their core and other beers.

"Without question" delays could be coming if the TTB is affected, McNulty said.

He said just as building permits can be held up the same can happen with TTB and beer "assuming the government isn’t equipped to get this all done remotely."

The twisted silver lining could be this, he said: "It might force the government and public agencies to finally get with the program and have all their offerings online."

Related coverage

Government shutdown's effect on breweries - 2019

Government shutdown's effect on breweries - 2013

6. GIFT-CARD SALES

HiHO Brewing in Cuyahoga Falls is one of the breweries promoting its gift cards.

The brewery has offered gift cards in its taphouse since it opened in 2017 but added online sales about a year ago, owners Jon and Aly Hovan said. The cards do not have an expiration date.

The only difference between buying a HiHO card in person vs. online is the monetary increments. You can buy any amount in the taproom, but online cards require $25 increments. Shipping is free.

The couple saw a slight uptick in card sales this week.

"People are trying to support anyone as much as they can, whether it's a brewery or restaurant," Jon Hovan said. "We're all kind of dealing with the same thing."

Gift cards also can be purchased in person at Masthead Brewing Co. or remotely by emailing kelly@mastheadbrewingco.com.

Related coverage: The story behind HiHO

7. GETTING OUT OF THE GAME - FOR NOW

Canton Brewing Co. closed its doors for the duration of the shutdown since they do not can. The brewery, which just passed its five-year anniversary, posted Monday on its Facebook page "It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to close until further notice. We look forward to seeing everyone when we are able to open again. Cheers and well wishes to everyone."

The brewery's Dave Beule assured me this week the closure is for the duration of the shutdown and not permanent.

Related coverage: Canton Brewing Co. using craft beer to embrace city’s arts district

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