Four Things Perrin Did to Alter Beer Releases

After its release of a small-batch Twilight Train Black IPA on draft and in 6 packs, Perrin Brewing Company shared some insights with Brewer on how the brewery is handling new beer releases right now while keeping social distancing in mind.

We have had to do a lot of things differently while releasing beers during COVID,” said Connor Klopcic, Director of Brewing Operations. “First thing is the transition from draft into more package. Our one-off beers, experimentals, pub only releases, were always more draft heavy.

“With being completely shut down for a period of time and going into 50% capacity after that we have made the adaptation into more package friendly releases. This means putting some beers into cans that we would have traditionally only put into draft.”

He said the main release that had to be adapted was Perrin’s No Rules release in April. Customers would wait by the hundreds outside the brewery trying to get their hands on bottles, with some even camping overnight. A stray from the normal first-come-first-serve basis, this year No Rules was released online.

“It was something that we have never done before and honestly, something we thought we would never do, but due to COVID, we made the transition to online sales and it went over extremely well,” Klopcic said. 

For two weeks after that, customers could grab the beer via curbside pickup without having to get out of their cars while people were still very uncomfortable in the early stages of the outbreak in the US.

As for the actual release schedule, Perrin has made a few adjustments, including skipping over a beer from the Side Hustle Series and having a few beers go longer than expected.

At the beginning of the shutdown, an Interactive Brew piece was created, an online voting poll for Perrin’s beer community to vote on the style of beer they wanted to see next.

“This online event was a marketing piece in itself to engage with our community at home, create and market our next release and increase excitement when the beer releases,” said Lindsey VanDenBoom, Marketing Director for Perrin. “It was a fun project to engage with folks every step of the way. A true ‘hands-on’ experience in a virtual setting.”

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