Ale Industries Asks For Fan Contributions To Keep Brewery Afloat During Pandemic

It’s a brutal time right now for American craft brewers who’ve seen their businesses decimated almost overnight by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a ‘shelter-in-place’ order for all of California. But more than 21 million of the state’s nearly 40 million residents were already under similar orders imposed at the county level over the past several days.

Under Newsom’s executive order Californians can go out for essential errands such as medical appointments, grocery shopping or to do critical jobs, but are otherwise advised to stay away from others.

California taprooms are now closed, a vital revenue source for most craft breweries, and many of them are struggling in different ways to keep the lights on.

And one of our favorite Bay Area breweries, Ale Industries in Oakland is going to the heart of its business, its fans, and asking them to contribute to a just activated GoFundMe campaign to help them stay afloat.

This from Ale Industries’ Casey Cobb…

“These are uncomfortably uncertain times for many and our thoughts go to everyone being affected by this crisis. Circumstances continue changing rapidly and we are incredibly fortunate that our team is still able to search for ways in which we can adapt. For eleven years, we’ve taken pride in sticking to our roots by providing fresh, unique, and affordable beer for you all.” 

“With the shutdown of our taproom until at least April 7th, we are set to have a big cash crunch. This is not something we can’t overcome, but it will certainly be a challenge. Our production team is still hard at work brewing fresh beer and we are looking for ways to make it available. We are set to package more beer than we normally would as we are expecting very few draft sales.”

‘There will never be enough words to thank you for over a decade of support. Now, more than ever, we need a helping hand from our community.’

Ale Industries isn’t looking for charity, but it is asking for support.  Every dollar contributed will be returned to you via an Ale Industries gift card.

And to keep things fun, this is after all the craft beer biz, Ale Industries is offering a series of perks for differing contribution levels including…

$1-50 contribution:

• Gift card for the same amount to be used in our taproom

$50+ contribution:

• Gift card for the same amount to be used in our taproom
• Your name will appear on the label of a 16oz can release once we are fully operational. You will be cast a vote to choose the name, style, and ABV of this beer during a unique taproom event.

$100+ contribution:

• Gift card for the same amount to be used in our taproom
• Your name will appear on the label of a 16oz can release once we are fully operational. You will be cast a vote to choose the name, style, and ABV of this beer during a unique taproom event.
• Your name will be added on a plaque to be proudly displayed in our taproom forever. You will be cast a vote to name this plaque during a unique taproom event (“Saviors of AI??”).

$500+ contribution:

• Gift card for the same amount to be used in our taproom
• Your name will be added on a plaque to be proudly displayed in our taproom forever. You will be cast a vote to name this plaque during a unique taproom event (“Saviors of AI??”).
• Come brew our special can release with us on brew day! We will take measures to ensure that it’s a convenient, safe, healthy, and fun learning experience.

There will also be a special area of recognition with your name on the plaque we will display in our taproom commemorating your contribution.

Please do what you can to help. These are good poeple. They make great beer and care about the community…So now’s the time to care back.