With Australia under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, almost everything has been shut down for safety reasons. This means we’re left with not much to do other than watch Netflix and/or drink, the latter of which isn’t too hard considering how bottle shops are still open. However, the drinking part may soon take a worrying hit for a lot of people in coronavirus self-isolation as Australia’s beer supply could be in deep trouble.
Drinking beer isn’t the only thing you can do while in coronavirus quarantine, as the GOAT team discusses on ‘It’s Been A Big Day For…’ below:
While bottle shops in Australia are still open and people are free to go buy all the grog they want (within reason), beer brewers may be a non-essential service that will have to be shut down as part of the coronavirus lockdown (as per ABC News).
What this means is that Australia’s beer supply may inadvertently be a victim of the coronavirus, with some brewers saying that stocks could run out as soon as two weeks (ironically enough) should breweries end up closing down. Breweries are still running at the time of writing but are only supplying beer directly to bottle shops as pubs and restaurants have all been closed, which has taken a financial toll already.
This beer supply issue could also potentially be a big problem for craft-beer drinks. ABC News reports that craft-beer breweries don’t hold large of stocks of beer, preferring to make the stuff fresh. Should these smaller breweries close, it’s not as simple as flipping the ‘on’ switch in order to get production started again and beer connoisseurs will have to make do without it for a bit.
Now this isn’t an invitation to go hoard beer and alcohol like what some maniacs have been doing with toilet paper as beer is still being produced and available in bottle shops for the time being. But what it does mean is that beer could potentially be as rare as toilet paper for a little while should the coronavirus lockdown get any stricter.
Perhaps Australia’s dwindling beer supply is a sign that now’s the time to reassess our drinking habits, which have almost certainly gotten worse since no one has been able to go out.
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