Hand Sanitizer on Tap

Breweries and distilleries from small operations like Bluegrass Distillers in Lexington, Kentucky, to giants like AB inBev, maker of Budweiser Beer, are working to provide hand sanitizer to hospitals and other first responders during the coronavirus pandemic.

Back in January 2020, you could have added a case of Purell hand sanitizer to your Amazon cart for around $30 according to Keepa, which tracks Amazon prices. By the beginning of March, those same 12 8-ounce bottles of Purell would have set you back close to $160 – and that’s assuming you could find any.

According to Adobe Analytics, which monitors eCommerce transactions of 80 of the top 100 US retailers, the virus protection category, which includes things like hand sanitizer, gloves, masks and antibacterial sprays, saw a surge in online purchases of 817% as COVID-19 gripped the nation.

The combination of panic buying and stockpiling meant that shelves in brick and mortar stores were soon bare, and online stores showed “out of stock”.

A reported 40 percent of distillery sales are to bars and restaurants. As shelter-in-place orders went into effect, closing down bars, restaurants, sporting and concert venues, brewers and distillers both large and small went to work, switching their production from bottling booze to bottling hand sanitizer.

Pernod Ricard USA, which owns Absolut Vodka, Jameson Irish Whiskey and many other brands, is producing hand sanitizer at multiple sites across the United States.

AB InBev used the technology from its non-alcohol beer brewing process to turn surplus alcohol into disinfectant and worked with local partners to turn some of that disinfectant into hand sanitizer.

The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) and the Brewers Association are working closely with regulators to overcome regulatory hurdles and follow all guidelines. And the World Health Organization provided the formula for making hand sanitizer, to ensure that the global shortage was met with a safe, effective product.