Our pubs, bars, brewpubs and taprooms turned off their lights as the beer and hospo industry was brought to its knees along with so many others.
But, for the most part, they survived thanks to the support of legends like you who threw your support behind the local beer community.
Now, one year on, it’s time to keep on #keepinglocalalive as Beer Swag Day returns for 2021 – complete with another sweet competition.
Every day is a good day to support local – but let's make March 23 a special time to celebrate your favourite businesses in these still uncertain times.
HOW TO CELEBRATE BEER SWAG DAY
If you’re a beer lover...
Snag some swag
Pick up some merch from your favourite brewery or venue as a way of showing your support. The Keeping Local Alive tees are back too – in black or white this year – ORDER HERE before March 14!
Brag your swag
Show off your favourite tees, beanies, stubby holders and more on social media.
Tag your swag
Tag your local breweries and venues – using #beerswagday2021 and #keepinglocalalive so we can find you! There's prizes for the best posts too (see below)
If you’re a beer business:
Keeping local alive is all for you, so you could consider encouraging your loyal customers to get on board by running a competition, hosting an event, or promoting your merch with a discount. If you're not open on March 23 (it is a Tuesday, after all) don't feel tied to that day – it's the vibe, man.
Whatever you do, keep sharing the message with beer lovers everywhere!
The future of local beer… it’s STILL in your hands!
WIN WITH BEER SWAG DAY!
Last year, Beer Swag Day attracted hundreds of awesome entries from beer lovers all over Australia showing off their hauls of branded clothing, glassware, openers – you name it! From a shortlist of state and territory winners, Sam Beard's entry (pictured above) won the public vote that saw her pick up a swag full of swag.
So, how could we not run another competition?
This time around, we'll be looking for the best, funniest, most creative, innovative and impressive posts to hit socials between March 1 and 23 – tagged appropriately with #keepinglocalalive and #beerswagday2021.
We've got Keeping Local Alive t-shirts for state and territory winners and have put together a panel to judge the best of the best. The grand champion will receive $250 from the Keeping Local Alive campaign to spend on goodies from their favourite beer businesses.*
FIND A LOCAL BEER BUSINESS
As the country started to open up again in 2020, The Crafty Pint team set about adding more beer businesses to their free app as a way to help people wanting to support local.
It was originally created to help beer lovers find good beer wherever they are in Australia, based around a map featuring hundreds of breweries, bars, pubs and bottleshops, as well as stories, beers, events and more.
The COVID-19 pandemic made it clear how such a tool could be handy for anyone playing their part #keepinglocalalive wherever they are in Australia.
There are always new breweries and good beer venues opening – and others making the switch to supporting local craft brewers – so if there's a business missing you think should be in there, drop the Crafty team a line so it can be added.
* You can check out the competition rules for Beer Swag Day here.
The #keepinglocalalive campaign sprung into life as Australia's national shutdown approached and helped galvanise the beer industry and the wider community that surrounds it.
While there have been casualties along the way – and some businesses and beer lovers have done it tougher than others – for the most part, we're still standing a year on. As the stories below highlight, the brewing, hospitality and retail sectors proved to be agile, adaptable and innovative to ensure they made it to where we are now: not out of the woods completely, but able to look forward with increasingly, if cautious, optimism.
One silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic is that support for local breweries, bars and pubs has never been stronger – and we want to see it get stronger still. That comes down to the choices you make every time you buy a beer or go for a meal.
The future of local beer – it's STILL in your hands.
Postcards from the Edge
The Keeping Local Alive campaign was sparked by an article of the same name addressing the mounting challenges faced by the beer industry in the week before the nationwide lockdown.
Since then, The Crafty Pint has run a series of articles from the frontline of the COVID-19 crisis in the local beer community under the Postcards from the Edge banner. A mix of inspirational innovations, personal tales and the challenges businesses and individuals are facing, it sits alongside the photo stories on the #keepinglocalalive Facebook page and The Crafty Pint's Instagram as a document of this remarkable period in time – both for the local beer world and the world at large.
You can find all the stories below – and get in touch if you have a story you think should be there.
The craft beer industry has always been one fired by the spirit of collaboration, something which has come to the fore during the COVID-19 crisis. We spoke to two brewers helping get their peers beers into punters' hands.
It's a scenario all venue owners have feared since Australia started to move towards reopening: a second lockdown. And it came to Ascot Vale on the day Jimmy's Tap & Barrel was set to open for the first time since March.
It will be a long time before we know the full impact of COVID-19. But on day 50 of the momentous decision to shutdown the country's venues, we asked people throughout the industry for their thoughts.
The UK has been hit even harder by COVID-19 than Australia. Ahead of his virtual Meet The Brewer this weekend, we chatted to Cloudwater founder Paul Jones about life as a brewer in the UK and what he thinks lies ahead.
The live music scene has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, longstanding live music supporters Young Henrys have joined forces with Inertia Music to sell local artists' vinyl with their beers.
There's never a good time to break your leg, but during a global pandemic while running a regional business is most definitely not good. Yet, with a little help from their friends at Lallemand, Pioneer Brewing turned it into an opportunity.
These remain difficult times for employees and business owners across the industry. Look after each other.
For more information or support surrounding mental health issues, you can contact:
* Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36
* Lifeline on 13 11 14
* Movember Conversations is an interactive tool from the Movember mental health team
Want to show your support for the local beer community? We've created a series of assets free for anyone to use online or put up in their venues. Thanks to Jessie at Craft Instinct and Sergio at Darkside Studio for their help once again.
The future of local beer – it's STILL in your hands.
BEER SWAG DAY 2021 ASSETS
Want to help spread the word? Here's some print and digital assets you can download for use in the lead up to Beer Swag Day 2021 on March 23.
Here's a selection of updated #keepinglocalalive assets that might be handy for your socials and websites when reminding people of the importance of supporting local.
NB If you wish to incorporate the campaign message or assets in your own campaign or event, please get in touch so we can ensure consistency of message. Cheers!
