If you’re reading this now—in mid April, 2020—you’re most likely at home, under quarantine or abiding by a shelter-in-place order in your city. The coronavirus has kept us all out of the bars, restaurants, and gathering places we love. Now we’re cooped up, drinking with others during the video calls that have quickly become the basis of Covid-style socializing—or maybe just cracking beers solo.

With these unprecedented events in mind, we asked The Fervent Few both what they’re drinking and how they’re drinking it. Are they going through their cellars, pulling out rare and special beers? Are they ordering curbside from local breweries? Or are they falling back on old, unfussy favorites? Read on to learn how the role of beer is changing for our community as members remain stuck inside for the foreseeable future.

Every day, Jason Berg digs deep into his cellar and picks something new to try. “I’ve been pulling a few bottles from my cellar or fridge—the ones I’ve been waiting for the right time or place to open. I see those bottles in the fridge daily and finally, I just grabbed one to drink one evening. During a recent video chat to keep connected, I was sipping on Fulton Beer’s Culture Project #2 from 2017, and realized any day can be an occasion.”

As Jason discovered, just because folks are at home doesn’t mean there aren’t special moments to celebrate. Ryan Brower also recently pulled out some beers he’d been saving for just the right moment. “I’d been sitting on a few bottles from Grimm’s Gathering Series with Jester King. My wife had been working on a solo art show since the summer and she just finished it this past week (although the gallery has pivoted to a ‘virtual showing’ for now). So that seemed like an appropriate time to open up Gathering II: Merlot, which uses Merlot grapes from New York. The color was a deep red and it had the slightest hint of sourness. It really was a stupendous beer/wine hybrid, and I can’t wait to crack the remaining three on other special occasions.”

Niko Christensen has been going through his cellar for the past month, but he’s still saving some bottles for the right moment. “We’ve been digging into our cellar a few nights a week, whether the day in question was particularly amazing or surprisingly awful. Recently we found two Westvleteren bottles—a Blonde and an 8—from my wife’s travels to Belgium in 2014. For Saison Day, we opened a two-year-old West Ashley from Sante Adairius, and I have a Side Project Tête de Cuvée which keeps eyeing me, but the time just hasn’t felt right…yet.”

Rob Cartwright has been rotating through his stash of fresh beers, homebrews, and Stouts. “We’ve been working through the basement stash and enjoying a homebrew Coffee Porter and assorted Stouts (thanks in part to fellow Fervent Fewer Andrés Muñoz). I found a couple bottles from breweries that are, sadly, no longer with us. And I’m excited to open a bottle of Pliny the Elder this weekend that my wife was kind enough to bring back from her trip to California (back when travel was, like, a thing).”

Many members are oscillating between their standby beers and rare treasures from their cellars, and GBH’s creative director Michael Kiser has also found himself going back and forth between old favorites and deep cuts. “I’m all over the place. I stocked up on favorites like Coors Banquet and one of Hopewell’s IPAs. I became a subscriber to Hiyu Wine Farm because they were offering some discounts and free shipping. But I’m also finding small occasions, like our Fervent Few video chats, to drink some things from the cellar.”

“After a week or so of some pleasure-seeking,” he says, “my habits are drifting back toward staying healthy. I went for a run today, taught my son how to comb his hair, and had another Banquet with lunch. I think on average, it’s gonna be the long-haul beers I remember most from this time.”

Pat Hayes works in a brewery—like Michael, he’s been alternating between cellar beers and comfort cans. “I figured it would be a good time to drink down the cellar, but so far that has consisted of opening two Barley Wines after the kids went to bed and feeling like garbage in the morning. The beers that stick out are Miller Lite and Allagash. I'm still going into work about once a week, canning beer at the brewery, so I usually grab some beer to-go from there. Now that I'm writing it all down, I guess I'm mostly drinking stuff I know and love—nothing I want to think about too hard. Drinking down the cellar feels like homework.”

Matt Paonessa echoed Pat’s sentiment. “Drink down the cellar? Naw. I went and bought a 30-pack of Genesee Cream Ale and a few mixed 12-packs. My beer cellar will weather this just fine!”

Andrés Muñoz is also about keeping it simple. “High Life. In a time of constant change, having something consistent and reliable is self-care. I love all beer and have consumed many craft beers throughout all this, but knowing that I'm going to enjoy the same High Life each time I pop that cap is relieving.”

But who says keeping it simple can’t mean buying local? Many Fervent Few members have used the pandemic as an opportunity to support their area businesses. “I buy what will fit in the fridge, and drink it within a week, typically,” says Miles Liebtag, chiming in from Ohio. “For the past couple of weeks, it's been a steady stream of Fat Head’s Head Hunter and Columbus Brewing Company’s Bodhi—still probably the best two IPAs in Ohio.”

While grabbing beers from his local brewery or the grocery store, Nick Yoder has noticed a curious omission. “I’ve been drinking a mix of local stuff I picked up at the brewery and grocery-store beers since I call on them every day for work. Surprisingly I don’t think I’ve picked up a single IPA over these three weeks. Instead, there have been Porters, Brown Ales, Italian Pilsners, Wheat Beers, Wits, and even a Mild I procured from a grocery store.”

While many of our members find comfort in everyday beers, some—like Josh Wright—are also looking beyond beer. “I drank through my regular drinking beer within the first week. My wife and I have been going through at least one or two bottles from the cellar a night, and then making cocktails and drinking cider when we aren't feeling beer. Most of our selections have to do with the food we're eating. Interestingly, we’ve been buying more cider and purchasing year-round instead of one-off beers from the local breweries.”

Matthew Modica has decided to forgo beer altogether. “I’ve been drinking a good amount of gin. I feel like I’m just willing spring to finally get here. For work I drink so much beer, and gin is my escape. My wife offered to make me a Negroni the way I like it at home since I can’t visit The Long Room here in Chicago to get my fix of candid banter while I hover over my drink. When she makes me that drink, I can imagine the bar and my fellow patrons—Mark reading The Economist, Dave asking me about books and films he can share with his daughter, Ollie cracking jokes about the stock market, Jeff checking inventory while I hope he’ll give in and sit with me for half a drink before I go home...”

As for me, I stocked up on beer from a local brewery and then I got sick, so I’m still drinking down that stash. But as soon as that’s gone, it’s time to finally take down my cellar. What about you? What have you been sipping on? Hit us up on social media—or, even better, join The Fervent Few. We have (nearly) nightly video calls, so you can share exactly what’s getting you through this strange time.