After some tense weeks of picketing and negotiating, Philadelphia-based Dock Street Brewing announced it would change its service model so that front-of-house employees at its West Philadelphia location would be paid regular hourly wages, rather than relying on tips.

On this week’s Brewbound Frontlines, Fresh Fest co-founder Day Bracey joins to discuss the upcoming beer festival showcasing Black-owned breweries, and industry professionals share taproom staff management best practices.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) ruled on Friday that the 51% calculation of gross receipts should only include the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premise consumption. As such, to-go sales of alcoholic beverages, as well as distributed volume to retailers and wholesalers should not be included in the calculation of gross receipts to determine which establishments should shutter for on-site consumption.

As it planned for eventual reopenings of its 11 own-premise locations, craft beverage rollup Artisanal Brewing Ventures surveyed consumers in April and found they wanted more than just the basics to combat the spread of COVID-19 inside taprooms. So, ABV is going a step farther and adding needlepoint bipolar ionization (NPBI) technology to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at its nine indoor locations by the end of June.

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.

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.

Statewide shutdowns of on-premise consumption at bars and restaurants have been announced in Illinois, Ohio, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Restaurants in these states can still sell food for takeout or delivery.

As the coronavirus disease known as COVID-19 spreads across the U.S., beer companies are adjusting their businesses for a reality in which being social is discouraged. Many companies are bracing for a downturn in on-premise business, including brewery taprooms.

The craft brewery where the brut IPA trend started in 2018 shuttered with little warning over the weekend. San Francisco brewpub Social Kitchen and Brewery announced it would close its doors last weekend, citing lease issues.

The parent company of Brizzy Seltzer Cocktails has filed a lawsuit against Molson Coors Beverage Company in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleging that the second largest U.S. beer manufacturer’s Vizzy Hard Seltzer name “is nearly identical to Brizzy in sight, sound and appearance” and infringes upon its trademark.

The 14,000 sq. ft. Samuel Adams Taproom has been a couple of years in the offing, located about 20 yards from the statue of the beer brand’s namesake, a Founding Father and revolutionary. Historic ground, indeed, but also a bit of a cursed location for previous tenants.

Pabst Brewing Company is launching a line of craft beers, as the craft segment has matured and sales of craft offerings have slowed to low single-digit growth. The Los Angeles-headquartered maker of Pabst Blue Ribbon announced today the launch of Captain Pabst, a standalone craft beer brand outside of the PBR family, and the launch of its flagship offering, Seabird IPA, in Wisconsin and Illinois.