Uber, Lyft and the Craft Beer Industry

At a time when small breweries are going through a Renaissance period, tech startups that focus on personal transportation services are doing their part to help craft beer lovers travel from one tasting event to another. According to a recent article published by Brew Bound, an online publication dedicated to the craft beer industry, companies such as Lyft and Uber are forging strategic partnerships with brewer guilds to lower the incidence of drinking and driving at craft beer tasting events and festivals.

In Georgia, a state where brewery taprooms are becoming very popular, craft beer lovers can count on getting Lyft rides home after visiting a taproom or enjoying an event. When state regulators approved the business model of breweries selling directly to consumers, drinking and driving suddenly became an issue that brewers had to consider. Let’s say a successful Georgia micro brewery plans a launch event for a seasonal lager at their taproom; this is a situation that would surely result in a full parking lot, which could also become a magnet for police officers eager to make DUI arrests.

Thanks to a partnership between Lyft and the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild, beer aficionados in the Peach State now have a safe and convenient option for getting from one brewery to another and from one tasting event to the next. The partnership currently gives Lyft riders who arrive at a Georgia brewery a 50 percent discount on their ride. Thus far, eight craft beer companies have signed up for this program. In the Atlanta metro area, Sweetwater and Jekyll Brewing are currently participating.

Similar partnerships between Lyft and craft beer purveyors have been forged in other states such as Arizona, California, Massachusetts, and Texas. At the 2017 Great American Beer Festival, personal transportation service Uber was a key partner in terms of providing rides for those in attendance. For 2018, organizers of this major craft beer event expect to sign up more ride sharing partners for the convenience of attendees.

Whereas mainstream breweries have been involved in campaigns against drinking and driving for decades, they have mostly done so with donations and media awareness. Craft beer industry leaders are taking a more direct approach by striking partnerships with companies such as Lyft and Uber. It makes sense for micro breweries to make personal transportation options available to their customers; after all, the experience of visiting a brewery and spend time in the taproom is intrinsic to the craft beer scene.