The First Ever “Shelter in Place Beer Fest” Will Benefit Colorado Brewery Employees

A Colorado-based beer podcast has hit upon a novel idea to take advantage of all the drinking we’re already doing at home: Why not just call it a virtual festival, and use the opportunity to benefit some beer industry folks in need? Thus, we give you the first Shelter-in-Place Beer Fest, also known as the SIP Beer Fest, which will happen this weekend on Saturday, April 11. Organized by a beer podcast called Unfiltered and sponsored by a Denver-based alcohol delivery app called Handoff, the SIP fest is intended to put some money into the pockets of beer industry employees who may have been terminated or furloughed during the current pandemic.

The concept is simple: Those wishing to show solidarity in the virtual beer fest can buy a $5 “ticket” for the event, and are then encouraged to place pickup and delivery orders from local Colorado breweries from noon-6 p.m. Saturday, before posting photos and videos of their haul (and revelry) on social media with the hashtag #SIPBeerFest. Money raised by those ticket sales, in addition to $1 from every Handoff beer order during the festival will be donated “to Colorado craft brewery employees impacted by layoffs due to the coronavirus outbreak.” Those in need will be determined by local breweries via surveys being distributed by the Unfiltered podcast.

“SIP Beer Fest is our attempt at giving back to our friends in the Colorado craft beer industry,” said Unfiltered co-host Sam Jay in a news release. “This beer fest and fundraiser is the least we can do to help them get through COVID-19’s impacts on the craft beer industry. We’re beer drinkers, we’re social animals. We don’t ever want to have to do this again.”