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.

After a decade working for some of the best known brands in the cider industry, Caitlin Braam is launching twin projects of her own: Yonder Cider and The Source.

Seattle-based Fremont Brewing reopened its beer garden on Sunday after a temporary closure following an employee testing positive for COVID-19. Six weeks after calling off its Philadelphia expansion, Everett, Massachusetts-based Night Shift Brewing may add another taproom location in Natick, Massachusetts, in early 2021, according to the Natick Report.

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.

Seattle, Washington-based Fremont Brewing has temporarily shuttered its brewery and beer garden after an employee tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, June 16.

The California Department of Public Health has rescinded a requirement that alcoholic beverages must be served with a meal, according to an industry advisory issued by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

The National Beer Wholesalers Association’s monthly Beer Purchasers’ Index bounced back from a dismal 35 reading in April to an overall index of 66 in May. Long-time Vermont Cider Co. executive Terry Hopper is exiting the maker of Woodchuck Hard Cider, effective today. And more industry news bites.

Flying Dog Brewery will keep its brewery taproom shuttered until at least June 2021, when the company will “evaluate the possibility of reopening,” the company announced in a press release. The company cited a need to focus on producing its core offerings, as well as support for its retail accounts.

Molson Coors Beverage Company’s Irwindale, California, brewery will have a new owner by year’s end as Pabst Brewing Company has exercised its option to purchase the facility.

As its home state of Georgia became the first to lift social distancing restrictions last week, Atlanta-based Monday Night Brewing conducted a poll to gauge consumer sentiment toward returning to normal and found that nearly 75% of drinkers don’t expect to visit a taproom until June at the earliest.

The majority of New York craft brewers have seen their sales drop by 75% or more and nearly half have stopped production entirely, according to a survey conducted by the New York State Brewers Association (NYSBA).

German officials today cancelled the country’s famed Oktoberfest celebration due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. The California Craft Brewers Association — a nonprofit trade group that represents the interests of the state’s craft brewers — announced today the cancellation of its “Craft Beer Summit,” which was scheduled for September 9-12 in Long Beach.

As the hospitality industry grapples with the impact of mandated closures of restaurants, bars, brewery taprooms and tasting rooms, craft breweries and brewpubs are beginning to announce staff layoffs and furloughs.

With mandated shutdowns of bars, restaurants and taprooms in more than 20 states and voluntary closures in many others, the novel coronavirus has forced craft brewers to get creative in getting their beer to consumers.