Announcement Regarding Impact of Covid-19

These are tumultuous times. When the Covid 19 breakout began just three months ago, it is safe to say that few people had an idea of the extent to which its impact would spread throughout the world. That impact has now taken hold here in Japan, as evidenced by Prime Minister Abe’s announcement of a State of Emergency throughout the country.

These changes have undoubtedly touched every one of your lives. Bars and restaurants are closing down. Overseas (and in many cases domestic) travel is eschewed. In some instances, and in some parts of the world, even leaving one’s house has been prohibited.

While these changes of course affect all of our private lives, the effect they are having on small businesses are also dire. Kyoto Brewing Co. is not immune to this, and unfortunately neither are the bars, restaurants, and other establishments whose patronage has allowed us to grow into the business we have become over these last five years.

So what can we do during these difficult times? First and foremost, we believe this is the time now, more than ever, to support one another in any way possible. For those in our industry, movements like “"Make Tomorrow Happy with Beer" campaign details” (Bii-ru de Asu wo Shiawase ni) #ビールで明日を幸せに, started by our friend Ai Tani of Craft Beer Base, and the All Together Collaboration Details worldwide collaboration we posted about recently perfectly embody this ethos. For those of you at home, supporting not only your local brewery but all the local businesses in your area is paramount to their survival.

So what are we doing here at Kyoto Brewing Co. to support you? One of the greatest aspects of the product we make is that it is one which enables people to have fun together. The virus has begun to rob the avenues in which people can do this, so our main focus at this time is funneling those avenues to you directly. As opportunities for you to visit your local bar begin to dwindle, we have shifted our focus to providing beer directly to you through our online shop. In addition to products we already intended to release in bottle form, we will now be packaging at least a small number of all products that are either currently in production or soon will be. We are working fast to remove hurdles and reducing timelines between you placing your order and receiving your beer. For those establishments still able to operate, we are initiating delivery of bottles within central Kyoto City.

There are many other projects on the horizon that we are working hard to bring to fruition quickly, including the packaging of barrel aged beers, offering previously released beer only available in keg in other formats such as bottle and growler, and streamlining either a pickup or delivery service for a wider range of products within the city. While there may be some bumps in the rollout of these initiatives, or very different visual presence than we have had to this point, we hope that by enacting them quickly we can in some way bring you not only good beer, but also revive some of the joy inherent in the product and the establishments in which it is usually enjoyed. Lets get through this the only way we can—together.

 

 

Ben, Chris, and Paul
Co-founders of Kyoto Brewing Co.