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COVID-19 has thrown a lot out of whack, and when it comes to the seasonal shift in beer, “people are hungry for something to remind them that time is passing,” says Samantha Lee, co-founder of Chicago’s Hopewell Brewing. Along with Scott Metzger, general manager for Boston’s Wormtown Brewery, the pair shared insights during a Sightlines Premium subscriber call about strategy and how they’ve been forced to guide changes during the pandemic.
Like we covered in a recent Sightlines newsletter highlighting the value now being placed on seasonal hard seltzers, the fall and winter offer a unique time to reconnect with drinkers weary of pandemic life.
For Hopewell, that’s currently showing with Ya Filthy Animal, a "holiday Sour" inspired by mulled wine. Samantha says the brewery’s fresh-hop beers got more attention than ever in 2020, with these beers fulfilling an emotional need alongside a consumerist one: “There’s something special about these special releases that remind people of time passing,” she says.
To her point: IRI-tracked seasonal beer SKUs were up +11.2% in September versus last year as breweries began a shift toward fall portfolios. Sign up to read more.
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Words by Bryan Roth