The Brewers Association’s annual American Craft Beer Week begins today, May 11, and runs through May 17. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s week-long celebration of independent beer looks a little different. Breweries are still unable open their doors to on-premise consumption and while to-go and delivery options exist, it’s not enough. The BA’s message for ACBW this year is to support your local breweries—albeit not in the usual way.

Here’s a pull from the press release:

Hosted by CraftBeer.com, a website published by the Brewers Association, this year’s celebration will feel different, but the spirit of supporting craft breweries who have supported their communities and country remains the same.

American Craft Beer Week provides an opportunity for beer lovers to connect safely with each other while supporting – and possibly even saving – local microbreweries, taprooms, brewpubs, and regional craft breweries. These small businesses are undergoing unprecedented challenges due to the global pandemic. U.S. craft breweries are job creators and community gathering places—providing more than 161,000 direct full and part-time jobs and hosting nearly 68 million unique brewery visitors in 2019 alone. Additionally, craft breweries donated more than $82 million to local charities last year, approximately $3.10 for every barrel of beer brewed.

The CraftBeer.com site says, “Join the celebration and support independent brewery businesses by giving the gift of craft beer through delivery of beer, beer-to-go, gift cards or merchandise,” and offers various means by which to provide this support. The top of that list is the nationwide list of to-go beer options, organized by state, which can help guide you towards local to-go options. (See also my page of Central Oregon options).

So buy and drink some American craft beer this week! That’s the best way to support breweries right now in the face of this pandemic.