As we wave an enthusiastic goodbye to 2020 we’ve been thinking about the year as a whole. For so much of the year we’ve had to take it day-by-day as guidelines constantly change and everyone continues to adapt, it’s easy to forget the tiny victories and mammoth achievements we’ve seen this year at Brew York. With that in mind, Wayne and Lee have been reflecting on the past 12 months and would like to share some of their thoughts…
“For me, personally, 2020 has been a crazy year. The pandemic has had such a big impact on people and businesses, that no one really seems to know what we can and can’t do and what we should or shouldn’t be doing. At Brew York we are really fortunate to be able to rapidly adapt and have a great workforce who have been instrumental in making sure we survived, initially and later on have gone on to hugely exceed our expectations in the year, ultimately culminating in our new production facility.
If we had been enjoying a pint together on New Year’s Eve 2019 and you had said to me… “By the end of 2020 Brew York will be about to commission a new production facility, have two new bars ready to launch in two amazing cities, have launched our first gin and grown our team, then I wouldn’t have believed you. I would have snapped your hand off at the opportunity to achieve all those things. However, if you had said that we would also have to deal with a global pandemic and what we have all been through this year, then I’m not so sure I would have been so keen.
We are really fortunate to be in a great position going into 2021, thanks to all the hard work our team have put in and all the protocols and procedures and hygiene practices that we have been able to follow. But there are so many of our friends and families who aren’t in a good position at all going into 2021 and are really going to struggle. Being a diverse business that spans brewery sales, retail sales and hospitality has really helped us survive this year, so I really feel for the businesses who aren’t so fortunate and haven’t had the support available to them when their businesses have been forced to close or operate at minimal capacity.
So, whilst I am thankful for what we have achieved, I’m not heading into the new year feeling great at our accomplishments instead I am just hoping that our friends in the industries we operate in are able to survive also and am looking forward to hopefully having a beer or two with them in 2021 and looking back and being thankful this is all behind us.
And I would also like to say a huge thankyou to our customers who have continued to support us throughout this year, through online sales and visiting our venues (when we have been allowed to open them) and joining us on our live youtube tastings. So with that said, I’d like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and I really hope we can continue to provide you with refreshments, entertainment and hopefully venues to go into 2021 in a better place.” – Wayne
“I was chatting with one of our suppliers the other day and she pointed out that it doesn’t matter what challenges you throw at craft brewers, they might have an initial moan but they will always adapt and make the best of a situation and I think that absolutely sums up our journey this year. The start of the pandemic led to some sleepless nights, and to be fair it still causes some stress, but it is with a huge sense of pride that we can look back at and reflect on how hard the team have worked to make us the adaptable and resilient brewery we are today.
We’re all about fun and positivity at Brew York so for all the challenges the pandemic has thrown at us I prefer to see the silver lining. The first lockdown in particular saw huge demand for canned beer delivered direct to your homes. This created a great opportunity for us to be even more prolific and creative which is a challenge we have relished. Beers released through the pandemic such as ‘Go Big & Stay At Home’ the huge Triple IPA our production manager Roddy conjured up and ‘Extra Brownie Pints’ our big Imperial Brownie Stout have become some of our most highly rated beers ever. And who can forget what is undoubtedly my favourite beer of the year, a beer we now have to refer to as ‘HYG’. Even if I do say so myself the balance of Peanut, Caramel and Marshmallow is just delightful and perfect to consume this time of year, ideally sat by a roaring fire.
So I would like to conclude by saying a huge thanks to you all for continuing to buy our beer and thus affording us the opportunity to keep the creations coming. Without your support, we would have been delivering a very different and depressing message right now. Who knows what 2021 holds, but one thing’s for sure as soon as we can be out on the road at the various great beer festivals our country has to offer we will be! As trust me, we’ve missed them every bit as much as you have! Hopefully catch you all at one of them across the bar.” – Lee
It’s been a hell of a year and we cannot thank you enough for your continued support. We have some epic plans in the pipeline for 2021 which we cannot wait to share with you. In the mean time, have a brilliant New Year and stay safe.
All the best, from everyone at Brew York x