Delivering Cheer!
By now, you’ve probably heard the standard delivery driver quip: “It’s like Christmas, but without the fun”. This altered Coronavirus world is difficult in so many ways, but at least we were reasonably placed at Brass Castle for the pivot away from pubs and towards direct home deliveries. We’ve done online sales and courier delivery from our website for the last five years and so are used to the Christmas home delivery rush and the exhausted-looking courier. Those couriers have our full support just now, as they work hard to meet people’s expectations and help to hold society together for the rest of us.
We’ve been totally overwhelmed by the support that we have received since COVID-19 sent us all home. The orders have flooded-in and every single one helps to keep us afloat. This is in addition to the wonderful people who have gone online and simply joined our Crowler Club to show their support. We have been able to flex our existing web shop and help other breweries out too, by inviting them to join our online beer line-up.
It hasn’t been a straightforward transition though. (Not helped by the scumbags who stole our brewery van in Liverpool the week before lockdown – but we’ll get over that.) Like other breweries, many of our staff are furloughed and we are operating with a skeleton crew. What was once a small part of our business, is now the main method of getting our beers into the hands of drinkers. Although of course we have also had to upgrade all our processes, to safeguard staff and customers. We’re getting used to the new reality and the changed logistics that come with it.
We direct deliver daily and for free in our local postcode area. That is our goal, but we can’t pretend it’s a guarantee – as occasionally we may find ourselves needing to take more time to prepare orders and get the beer where it needs to go. But we’re proud of this regular local beer delivery service. We’ve partnered with our pals at Roost Coffee & Roastery to help make this happen. They assist by delivering some of the beer, and we take Roost coffee to their customers on our runs. The community spirit between businesses sharing the Coronavirus experience, is shared by our customers too – who cheer our drivers on their way and help to keep them safe during beer deliveries.
For all other delivery addresses in the UK we use courier drivers who, from our perspective, have really leaned into this challenge. I hope that they are receiving the same level of goodwill from the customers they meet that we experience in Ryedale. Most of the time, people appreciate the work that they are doing, the strain that they are under, and the challenges of this current environment.
While out on our local delivery runs, we are also bringing cheer to Yorkshire Ambulance Service staff. We all need to get behind NHS and care workers all of the time, but particularly now. We decided to channel our support to our local Yorkshire Ambulance Service staff and crews, by putting a post-shift beer into their hand. So when we pass an ambulance station, we drop off free cases of beer. We’ll be delivering in Driffield and Bridlington this weekend and will visit those stations. Meanwhile, our colleagues at Roost Coffee are delivering free Brass Castle beers to the Kirkbymoorside ambulance station later today. That is working together to support one another – in this weird moment where we can’t share a round in the pub.
So please – bear with us if an order is in transit longer than you expect. We might be taking extra time to package your beer just right. Or we might be late to you because we’re coming via a Yorkshire Ambulance Service station. Thank your delivery driver and help keep them safe – you are helping them to bring you and others cheer.
