Where should we get a beer tonight? Do you want to go to the place we always go? You know, the place where the bartender knows us, and they always have good music on the jukebox?
Or should we check out the new (insert name) brewery? I hear they have great (insert style) beers. Or should we pick up a local sixer from the corner store, and head home to binge-watch “Tiny House Nation”?
What beer to buy and where to drink it has taken on new meaning this year. I never worried about what was in my fridge because I knew I could spread the beer buying dollars around. I could buy favorite local liquids anytime I wanted.
If the mood inspired I could try someplace new. It was a simple as heading over to the tasting room for sampling. There was no real planning nor worrying.
Things have changed. Now I spend all week filling online shopping carts on various brewery websites. I load them up with my dream order then compare prices, styles and pick-up options. Do they have curbside? Am I in the delivery area, or will this order require leaving the safety of home for the unknown?
There is a hint of trepidation in going someplace new. I already know the places I’ve been are doing a great job with COVID-19 safety.
Do I want to risk going somewhere else? So I ask around on social media. Where have you been? Are they doing it right?
As I do, I wonder if it is better to put all my money into the same neighborhood spots each week to ensure they’ll have consistent regular customers as they try to endure the financial impacts of the pandemic.
I certainly want to help contribute to their survival if I can, and more so than ever it feels like my purchasing power has real consequences.
Is it better to spread that money out among as many places as possible? There is extra beer money since we’re no longer putting tanks of gas in the car for work commutes or going to movies or traveling.
The easiest choice would certainly be just to add a six-pack to my grocery order, but the local choices are limited. Click the “Craft Beer” option on Von’s website, and Smirnoff Ice Smash Peach Mango comes up as one of the first choices.
Core beer options from some larger San Diego breweries like Modern Times, Karl Strauss and Coronado are there too. I’m not averse to tossing some in the cart, but it doesn’t feel like the impact is the same.
In the end, I go back to the online carts, and home in on what I really want, and how I am using my power as a consumer. I’m less likely to take risks on new places now but will likely buy more than I can drink. I’ll make sure there is a tip out for the delivery driver and click “Buy.”
If I’m doing a pickup, I’ll fill the cooler with ice, put on a mask, pack the antibacterial wipes and hit the road. When I get home, I’ll fill the fridge, then crack one of those tasty beers open, grab the laptop and start it all over again.
Don’t forget to listen to the latest Cheers! North County Podcast with guest Yiga Miyashiro, the Director of Brewing Operations at Saint Archer Brewing Company, to talk about mentorship in the industry, his journey, including stops at Lost Abbey and Pizza Port, and how things have changed, or stayed the same, since Saint Archer was acquired by MillerCoors (now Molson Coors) in 2015.
Check out the new Coast News Podcast directory to listen to all of the Cheers! episodes where I meet up for a beer (virtually for now) with interesting people across San Diego, introducing them to you through casual conversation. Expect to meet politicians, entrepreneurs, local leaders, charity organizers, activists, beer celebrities and more.
