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We expected that people would be into celebrating National IPA Day yesterday – but we don’t think that anyone saw this coming. Reports started surfacing just after midnight last night, that the response to 2016’s IPA Day had been massive and that the nation’s IPA supply lines, at least for now, had been completely depleted!
Panic and disbelief swept social media networks this morning as the realization grew that yesterday’s celebration might have temporarily depleted craft beer’s most popular brew. Retailers on the East Coast are reportedly calling in security, as they turn away angry customers who’ve grown accustomed to their daily IPA fix.
”We suggested that customers might want to consider a lager for a change” said George Mantzouranis of Magruder’s FineWine & Spirits
in Washington, DC, “but the public’s clearly upset – they’re demanding IPAs.”
“Hopheads can be difficult to reason with” mused Mantzouranis, “they love their IPAs and many of them can’t make it through a day without a good one. We’ve been calling our distributors all morning, but have been unable to get through,” Mantzouranis added “the phone lines have just melted down. It’s crazy!”
“Mob violence is a very real danger when you’re dealing with a disruption like this” said Jeff Hancock, Head Brewer and Co-founder of Washington, DC-based DC Brau. “If the IPA is good enough, its fans will stop at nothing to get a cold one. “When good people become desperate – bad things can happen” Hancock added. “We’re doing everything we can to alleviate things. We’ve amped up production as much as we possibly can and hope to be at retail by tomorrow.”
Asked about reports of angry mobs overtaking beer truck drivers, Hancock showed concern, “DC Brau’s The Corruption is a damn good IPA and our driver’s understand that people are frantic right now. I can’t predict what’s going to happen today…But so far all our drivers are accounted for and we’re thankful for that.”
“We’re doing our best to monitor this emergency situation nationally, reports Tom Bobak, Founder & Editor-In-Chief of American Craft Beer, “but clearly the industry was blindsided by yesterday’s overwhelming demand. We’ve been on the phones all morning with craft brewers from every region of the country, and they’ve told us they’re working 24/7 to get their IPAs back into the marketplace as soon as possible.”
“This is a very difficult time for the nation,” Bobak added, “and we are asking that everyone stays calm until this crisis is over.”
