As things get back to some sort of normal, businesses are too. But some just made it through the pandemic.
Like many businesses, breweries had to close their doors due to the pandemic and were forced to do curb side sales.
For brewers like Bold Republic in Belton, that means their single canning machine was pushed to the limit, working hard to keep them going.
”One day we were open and the next day we weren’t," said Owen Merriman, bartender and assistant brewer at Bold Republic Brewing. "So, we had to figure out ways to get through it so, we started doing our mobile to go orders.”
While some breweries were getting creative with sales, other breweries took a chance and started their business despite COVID-19.
”A lot of people looked at us like we were crazy nut we already had the homebrew supply store and we were like, you know, things are rolling into place and we got open,” said Lara Crum, veteran and founder of Iron Gauntlet Brauhaus in Killeen.
Thanks to the brotherly bond brewers have, they helped each other stay afloat.
”We switched grains with Barrows because they were out of something, or Iron Gauntlet come up here and washed kegs one day,” said Merriman.
Now Bold Republic Brewing is back in full swing, and Iron Gauntlet is thriving better and faster than they could have ever imagined.
”We had to buy double sized fermenters this week and we actually just got our TTB approval so we could get kegs out to restaurants and so you’re going to see Iron Gauntlet a lot more everywhere and not just here," said Crum.
Both breweries said the support of the community made it all possible and Crum said the support from here fellow veterans in Killeen has been nothing short of overwhelming.
