Wichita brewery with lots of untapped kegs offering liquid relief to hospitality workers
Intrust Bank Arena has been closed during coronavirus, and so have bars and restaurants that would have been serving from kegs provided by Wichita Brewing Company.
That means that the brewery, which has two local restaurants and a big brewing facility in south Wichita, has lots of keg beer piled up and nothing to do with it.
And if they wait too long to serve it, said brewery co-owner Greg Gifford, it won’t stay good.
So Gifford has come up with an idea that he hopes will put the beer to good use and offer some liquid relief for local hospitality industry workers who have been affected by coronavirus-related layoffs.
On Saturday, any hospitality-industry employee who has lost work during the coronavirus pandemic is invited to bring glass growlers to the brewery’s production facility at 727 E. Osie and fill them up for free. Staff members will be there from noon until 5 p.m., Gifford said, and people will be allowed to fill two growlers each.
He anticipates giving away about 600 growlers worth of beer.
It’s not legal to give alcohol away in Kansas, Gifford said, so a few local sponsors have teamed up to pay $1 for each growler filled, and Gifford says he’ll donate the sponsor’s money to charity. The sponsors are Marty Johnson of Johnson’s Garden Centers, Atlas MD and Nitro Joes.
“We want to do something nice for the hospitality industry because we’re in it, and we want to give back,” Gifford said.
The beer available will be predominately WuShock Wheat, he said, but there are some other test beers that the brewery also will be distributing.
People will need to bring their own half-gallon glass growlers, Gifford said. The brewery will have some on hand for people who need them, but they cost $8 each.
This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 12:48 PM.
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