COVID-19/ Can't get a drink

[Saunassa]

Many of the craft breweries here are selling to go growlers. No personal growler fill due to sanitation. One place is a brew pub so you can get a meal and growler to go.
Due to Covid-19 blood donations are down everywhere. Brewery close by is giving out a gift certificate for a free crowler when you donate blood.

 

[TwistedGray]

There largest brewery here, Alvarado Street Brewery and sister company Yeast of Eden with three locations, closed all three of their doors. Clearly the majority of us are not buying to-go food. ****, the Taco Bell on main Street is closed (although, we eat at the taco trucks so not upset persay).

 

[Unicorn_Platypus]

This may sound like a dumb question, but I'd rather ask it now, then not, and regret it later.

I've been reading the virus can live on cardboard for up to 24hrs and plastic/stainless steel for 2-3 days (even read up to 8 days on that, but don't know if that's been debunked). I'd like to order a sack of 2row and some hops, so what precautions (if any) should I take?

I, along with my son, are in the high risk group (asthma), so I wanted to ask. I read about our first reported case in my home town. I'd love to be able to do some brewing in case my employment shuts down. I can easily do without beer if it means not getting infected or (worse) passing it on to my family.

I live in NYC which is a much more densely populated area than the rest of the country. I've been wearing gloves when opening any packages, discarding the cardboard, then clorox wiping the outside of the contents (or letting them sit for 4 days before handling)

I think receiving things via delivery is still safer than going out to a store where you may be dealing with crowds of people. The droplets from this virus can remain in the air for a period of time so best to stay out of indoor places with lots of people. All it takes 15 seconds of exposure in the surrounding air to catch it.

 

[Yesfan]

I live in NYC which is a much more densely populated area than the rest of the country. I've been wearing gloves when opening any packages, discarding the cardboard, then clorox wiping the outside of the contents (or letting them sit for 4 days before handling)

I think receiving things via delivery is still safer than going out to a store where you may be dealing with crowds of people. The droplets from this virus can remain in the air for a period of time so best to stay out of indoor places with lots of people. All it takes 15 seconds of exposure in the surrounding air to catch it.

The wife and me had to make a grocery run. It was nice to see some bread on the isles. There was hardly no one in our local Publix. Still no damn toilet paper.

When we got back, we basically washed down everything we bought with clorox wipes before putting them up. Probably do the same when my grains come in. If it's not raining, I'll leave the package out in the sun for a few hours.

On a side note, is Star-san good enough to kill the virus? Asking in case we run into a shortage of Lysol/Clorox wipes as we're seeing with hand sanitizers. I feel like we, as home brewers, are sitting on a good mine.

 

[passedpawn]

The wife and me had to make a grocery run. It was nice to see some bread on the isles. There was hardly no one in our local Publix. Still no damn toilet paper.

When we got back, we basically washed down everything we bought with clorox wipes before putting them up. Probably do the same when my grains come in. If it's not raining, I'll leave the package out in the sun for a few hours.

On a side note, is Star-san good enough to kill the virus? Asking in case we run into a shortage of Lysol/Clorox wipes as we're seeing with hand sanitizers. I feel like we, as home brewers, are sitting on a good mine.

Use bleach. It's so cheap and available everywhere (I assume), incl hardware stores. 1 cup of bleach in 1 gallon of water. I put iit in a spray bottle.

(I emailed 5 star chem, who makes starsan, and they said that they don't recommend starsan against coronavirus; it might work, might not, but once again, just use bleach).

 

[Yesfan]

Yeah, I wouldn't use Starsan over bleach. Just was wondering in case the hoarders started buying all the bleach up. I'm thinking, as a last resort, Star-san is better than nothing.

 

[passedpawn]

Yeah, I wouldn't use Starsan over bleach. Just was wondering in case the hoarders started buying all the bleach up. I'm thinking, as a last resort, Star-san is better than nothing.

Yes, better than nothing. Pool stores also carry bleach (pool chlorine).

Bleach is sodium hypochlorite NaOCl, but you can also use dry calcium hypochlorite for the same purpose. It comes in a dry packet that you need to add to water and wait to dissolve. I buy the CaOCl by the case for my pool. Here's where I get it, but you can get at Home Depot etc (at least in FL). For guidance on using CaOCl (and other chlorines) for killing virii, see CDC site here.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BGNLUV8/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_g54DEb7ZRFWD5

 

[McKnuckle]

Iodophor is a reliable virucide, just FYI, in case you insist on applying homebrew equipment to the task at hand.

 

[hopjuice_71]

Hmm, strangely, people always forget about soap. One the best things there is to kill anything with a lipid membrane, like SARS-Cov-2. Does it fast, does it efficiently. People do it all the time after they flail Salmonella and and Campylobacter around their kitchen while dealing with chicken or turkey (these are more hardy than SARS-Cov-2, BTW). Wash your hands with soap and warm water. Wipe down your stuff with it if you want, but you could just wait a few days.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

It’s unofficial, but I have heard from a few sources they will not be enforcing liquor licenses At least in Livonia, so beer delivery will be a thing for a short while for us here.

Here in California, we have breweries doing delivery, and our local wine bar is offering free delivery for anything over a $100 purchase. It's definitely happening here.

This may sound like a dumb question, but I'd rather ask it now, then not, and regret it later.

I've been reading the virus can live on cardboard for up to 24hrs and plastic/stainless steel for 2-3 days (even read up to 8 days on that, but don't know if that's been debunked). I'd like to order a sack of 2row and some hops, so what precautions (if any) should I take?

I, along with my son, are in the high risk group (asthma), so I wanted to ask. I read about our first reported case in my home town. I'd love to be able to do some brewing in case my employment shuts down. I can easily do without beer if it means not getting infected or (worse) passing it on to my family.

A good resource here: https://www.seriouseats.com/2020/03/food-safety-and-coronavirus-a-comprehensive-guide.html

It's more about food safety than package delivery, of course. But one of the key aspects is that this is a respiratory (airborne) pathogen, so the biggest issue is not touching things; it's breathing it. Getting the virus on your hands can't infect you unless you unless you then touch your nose [or eyes].

And it doesn't transmit through food either. Even if there is virus on a piece of food and you ingest it, it's not an infection vector.

So for any packages, I would glove up, bring them into the garage, *immediately* go take the gloves off and wash your hands [being careful not to touch your face], and then let the packages sit a few days. That should be sufficient to avoid any issue.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Liquor specific stores are closed here in Chicago but of course all grocery stores also sell booze and so far no shortages. I'm shipping some local beers to a friend stationed in Maryland, he also wanted a bottle of Malort but so far I haven't been able to find it at any of the grocery stores.

My LHBS Brew & Grow are trying to get permission to stay open as an essential business on the argument that they also sell agricultural production materials I really hope they manage to get that.


On a side note, this past Friday I received a large box directly from a factory in Shenzhen - a shipment of new stoneware product samples I need to review and approve. The UPS guy set it on the porch and instead of a signature just asked to confirm my last name. I set it just inside the door then went and washed up, leaving it to sit until this morning when any potential virus contamination has had time to expire. When I did open it I was careful to bag all of the bubble wrap and wipe down the samples with clorox wipes. All clear now.

Obviously quarantining for 5 days wouldn't work for perishables, but for other items it is a worthwhile consideration.