Pat and Shawn McIlhenney planning to open a brewery in the former Alpine Beer space; Deep Ellum shutters its Fort Worth taproom; Allagash founder Rob Tod recovers from COVID-19; and California extends bar closures to 19 counties.

Former Fifty West Brewing director of sales Del Hall has left the Cincinnati craft brewery to join 16 Lots Brewing Company’s management team as chief commercial officer, starting July 6.

Days ahead of the July 4 holiday weekend, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has issued an executive order to close bars as the number of COVID-19 infections in the state has increased over the last couple of weeks.

Amid surges in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country, more states and counties are pulling back on on-site consumption at bars and breweries. The reopening of bars for on-premise consumption has also come under fire in recent days from the highest levels of government. During testimony before the Senate on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, called out bars, in particular, as “really not good.”

Beer category dollar sales in off-premise retailers have now topped $1 billion in four of the last five weeks, according to market research firm Nielsen. For the one-week period ending June 20, off-premise scans increased 21.2%, to $1.02 billion, the firm reported. Category sales also reached $1 billion for the weeks ending June 13, as well as the weeks ending May 23 and May 30, which bookended the Memorial Day holiday. Sales fell just short of the $1 billion mark for the week ending June 6, totaling $998.4 million.

Days after Texas and Florida mandated that bars shut down for on-premise consumption, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday ordered an immediate end to on-site sales at bars in seven counties, as well as recommended that eight additional counties take similar action in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The Brewers Association has announced a second round of layoffs, cutting 17% of its workforce, the national trade group confirmed to Brewbound. The layoff amounted to nine additional employees of the BA, including one of its most recognizable faces and advocates for small and independent U.S. craft brewers: Julia Herz.

U.S. brewers’ shipments in May declined 6.6%, to 14.2 million barrels, a loss of 1 million barrels compared to May 2019, according to the Beer Institute (BI), which shared unofficial estimates of domestic tax paid shipments compiled by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).

As the number of new COVID-19 cases have reached record highs, Texas and Florida today ordered bars cease on-premise operations.

Latino-owned San Diego craft brewery Border X is partnering with the Mujeres Brew Club to open a taproom location in the former Alta Brewing space, founder and CEO David Favela told Brewbound. The new taproom brewery will operate as a nonprofit with a focus on empowering women within the craft beer space.

About three weeks after Adam Lambert took over as president of the Michigan Brewers Union — the roll up of Dark Horse Brewing and Roak Brewing — the COVID-19 pandemic shut down on-premise sales across the U.S.

Duvel Moortgat USA VP of sales Bobby Dykstra and VP of marketing Natalie Gershon discuss plans for the Boulevard and Brewery Ommegang brands, trends during the COVID-19 pandemic and their strategy for the next six months.

Deschutes Brewery’s Portland, Oregon, pub is slated to reopen later today after being closed for three months. The pub’s reopening, along with those of other restaurants and bars in Multnomah County — Oregon’s most populated county — was delayed a week after Gov. Kate Brown imposed a one-week moratorium on reopenings due to a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases.

Longtime Vermont Cider Co. VP of sales Terry Hopper became fast-growing Montauk Brewing Company’s 10th employee in eight years.