We have written about local breweries and their response to the pandemic, as well as small distilleries that stepped up to transform their production lines to produce hand sanitizer. We’ve even looked at some of the larger players who have pitched in, like the wholesale liquor distributors paying it forward by helping hospitality workers. But a recent email made us really turn our heads. It noted, in part:
Nearly 90,000 bottles of hand sanitizer from the company’s Los Angeles, CA brewery are being delivered to emergency management agencies, food banks, and healthcare systems in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Texas and Washington DC. To date, the company’s flagship breweries have provided more than 250,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to 12 states and Washington DC.
Holy shit that is a lot of sanitizer. Anheuser-Busch is a major operation, sure. But the effort’s nonetheless impressive. As of this month, the company has delivered more than 340,000 bottles for relief efforts.
In the Commonwealth, the bottles have been distributed by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency via August A. Busch & Co. of Massachusetts. You might ask, Why is Anheuser-Busch on this grind? And to that they say they acted with “the help and direction of local government officials and the American Red Cross.”
And it hasn’t affected their suds output at all. “No, this is in addition to our beer production,” the media release noted. “Anheuser-Busch has the materials and the capabilities to produce hand sanitizer in our breweries.”
Finally, “All of the products produced by Anheuser-Busch will be distributed to internal teams and, with the help and direction of the American Red Cross and local government officials, donated to communities in need.” Which means they aren’t for sale.
While it is unlikely that people will want to hold on to keepsakes to remember this pandemic by—after all, we already have the trauma and lost wages—provided there’s enough for those on the front lines who actually need hand sanitizer, this is certainly shelf-worthy memorabilia if you can get your hands on a bottle.
Dig Staff means this article was a collaborative effort. Teamwork, as we like to call it.
