The Brewers Association is aware that in most communities, cities, counties, and states, food and beverage manufacturers including breweries have been designated as “Essential Businesses,” and are able to continue production, exempt from general business closure orders.

In order to keep their inbound and outbound supply chains open, brewers may need to designate their critical suppliers as “Essential Suppliers,” such that they too are able to continue operations and to deliver goods and/or provide services to brewers, thereby allowing breweries to continue to operate.

Such suppliers might include:

• Can, crowler, and end suppliers
• Growler and bottle suppliers
• Paperboard and cardboard suppliers
• Malt supply companies
• Hop supply companies
• Yeast supply companies
• Fruit, spice, barrel, or other adjunct supply companies
• Brewery sanitation chemical suppliers
• CO2, N2, O2, or other gas suppliers
• Energy, water, and other utilities suppliers
• Waste treatment companies
• Solid waste removal vendors, including farmers that pick up spent grain
• Water treatment service and chemical vendors
• Freight companies that deliver inbound supplies and ship outbound finished goods
• Many other suppliers of goods and services critical to brewery operations

The Brewers Association has created a template letter that members can repurpose as needed to communicate to the appropriate authorities that their suppliers are essential to continued brewery operations. Brewers operating in states, counties, or cities with closure orders in place are advised to confer with their legal advisors to review the content of letters they plan to issue to “Essential Suppliers” and/or regulators.

The template is also available to download as a PDF or Google Doc.