American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
(Courtesy Delta Air Lines)
As the 4th of July approaches, a peak time for beer sales, takeaway beer sales look strong. We’ve that, the return of beer flights, and more!
Beer Flights Resume On Delta Air Lines
America is beginning to open up again after being shuttered for months thanks to COVID-19. And Delta Air Lines has announced that it’s restoring wine and beer options across most of its US flights three months after it eliminated the options as the pandemic began to cripple the air travel industry.
Beginning July 2, passengers sitting in its two premium cabins — First Class and Comfort+ — will have the complimentary option of single-serve bottles of red and white wine, or a choice of Miller Lite, Heineken and SweetWater beer, on flights farther than 500 miles. Delta’s rollout will be gradual and alcohol won’t be available for passengers sitting further back in Main Cabin so choose your seats well…
“We know beer and wine are the adult beverages our customers want most,” said Allison Ausband, Delta’s senior vice president of in-flight service, in a release. “These selections are the first step towards a normalized beverage offering while we continue to keep customer and crew safety at the center of everything we do.”
Retail Beer Surge Going Into The 4th of July Holiday
The Fourth of July is a marker for beer sales. According to the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) it’s the #1 time of year for off-premise purchases (takeaway sales).
Independence Day is a milestone for traditional beer retailers. In a typical year, beer distributors deliver double the beer than they normally would.
The impact of COVID-19, which led to the closure of the majority of the nation’s on-premise venues (read: restaurant, taprooms and bars), has boosted beer takeaway sales to near record numbers. Off-premise retailers have now topped $1 billion in four of the last five weeks, according to market research firm Nielsen.
According to Brewbound “the latest sales spikes have nearly rivaled the July 4 holiday week in 2019, the previous high-water sales week of the last 52 weeks. Now, heading into the 2020 July 4 holiday, sales are surging, and they could go even higher as states once again pull back on allowing on-premise consumption in an effort to once slow down surges in new cases of COVID-19.”
