Brewbound Frontlines: California, New York and Illinois Guild Directors & Brewers Association’s Paul Gatza Discuss Craft Beer During COVID-19

Brewbound’s virtual panel series returns Thursday, May 7th at 3 p.m. ET with leaders from the Brewers Association and the California, New York and Illinois state brewers guilds. This week’s discussion will give the industry a look at what breweries in those states are experiencing and how the guilds and the BA are helping during this crisis.

Featured guests:

  • Paul Gatza, SVP of Professional Brewing Div., Brewers Association
  • Danielle D’Alessandro, Executive Director, Illinois Craft Brewers Guild
  • Tom McCormick, Executive Director, California Craft Brewers Association
  • Paul Leone, Director, New York State Brewers Association

Last month, the Brewers Association announced the layoff of 23% of its staff and the reduction of management team salaries due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst these economic challenges, the BA and nonprofit fundraising organization Bottleshare established the “Believe in Beer Fund” to support breweries and state brewers guilds across the country that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

New York, California and Illinois were some of the first states to issue on-premise shutdowns. They’re also home to a combined 1,614 breweries. We’ll delve into how these guild leaders have helped their members navigate ever-changing legislative waters, pivot to alternative business structures and handle government assistance programs.

Tune in live and submit your questions to gain insight on how these leaders are working alongside breweries to ensure their businesses find new opportunities and overcome current challenges.

Bookmark the livestream page and set a reminder to tune in.


About Brewbound

Published by BevNET.com Inc., Brewbound is a leading industry trade publication providing comprehensive information about the beer space, analysis of industry trends and in-depth interviews with industry leaders. In addition to providing daily news, Brewbound also gathers entrepreneurs and executives to exchange ideas, discuss the state of the industry and hear strategies for succeeding in the alcohol beverage segment via a series of nationwide meetups and multi-day business conferences.