Janelle Irwin Taylor
3 Daughters Brewing is repurposing some of its equipment to make not beer, but hand sanitizer.
The company this week announced on Instagram that it was bottling 4 oz. containers of hand sanitizer to hand out to individuals for free.
But don’t show up at the brewery to pick up a bottle. Within less than 24-hours of announcing its plan, the company, located in the Grand Central District of St. Petersburg, urged people to stop showing up to its tasting room to pick up the hand sanitizer.
“In the past few hours we have received THOUSANDS of phone calls, emails, texts and people coming to the brewery,” the company wrote on Instagram.
“Our desire to help has quickly grown into an event that we did not intend; hundreds of people gathering at our brewery at the same time. We feel it is the responsible decision for us to cancel our initial plan. Please allow us the opportunity to distribute all of this responsibly and in accordance with state and federal guidelines.”
Instead, 3 Daughters will donate all of its product and future product to charity organizations within the community.
There has been a massive shortage of hand sanitizer in Florida since the first cases of coronavirus were reported in the Tampa Bay area earlier this month. Shelves have been emptied of hand sanitizer products and even Amazon has a shortage, leaving third-party sellers attempting to sell hoarded items at huge markups, a move the company quickly blocked.
A story went viral last week about a Tennessee man who had traveled throughout his state and neighboring Kentucky, buying up more than 17,000 bottles, which he now has no way to sell. The man later donated the items.
Those shortages led 3 Daughters to act.
“As everyone tries to navigate through this unprecedented time, we are going to do everything we can to help our partners, employees and the community that is affected by this crisis,” the group wrote in its initial announcement Wednesday. “One thing we can do is re-purpose our brewing equipment and materials to produce our own hand sanitizer.”
The company had originally planned to distribute the product one per person at its tasting room from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. That plan was halted when the company experienced more response than expected.
The company’s popular tasting room is currently closed, per a state mandate shuttering bars and nigh clubs until Mar. 30. That means its in-store to-go sales have also been halted, leaving the company with less demand and an opportunity to repurpose some equipment.
“The 3 Daughters family is committed to keeping the foundation of the brewery solid,” they wrote. “So as soon as the mandate is removed, and the crisis is past we can reopen and see you all back here again soon enjoying your favorite beer.”
