Celebrating #PubJanuary
In recent years, many people have decided, post-holidays, to spend the first month of the year on an alcohol hiatus. That’s a healthy impulse, but choosing the month as Dry January served as a double whammy for our friends who make beer. The month was already the worst for sales, and adding a nationwide abstinence campaign was especially bad timing. So last year, I proposed a new twist on January. Whether you’re abstaining or not, consider getting out of your house a few times next month for #PubJanuary. It’s good for you and it’s good for your neighborhood brewery.
This year, it is going to be an official project of Celebrate Oregon Beer to try to promote the idea of getting out. Social isolation isn’t good for anybody, and pubs have always been great places to meet friends, have a meal, play games, and connect. One can as easily do that with a mocktail, hop water of NA beer in hand as a West Coast pilsner. It’s good for you and it’s good for breweries and pubs. This year just ending was a poor one for breweries, so starting out with a little boost from their fans would really help. Let’s see if we can move the needle a bit and make January 2025 a bright spot for breweries.
Winter is tough for people. We have fewer hours of daylight, and in places like Western Oregon, the hours we do have are often dimmed by clouds. That leads to the winter blues for a lot of people. The weather is bad, so we engage in fewer activities than we do in summertime. And because we’re not out already and we’re feeling sluggish and depressed, we tend to hole up. But social isolation is the worst thing for the winter blues. When we are connected, we enjoy a wide range of mental and physical health benefits, so getting out and enjoying each other’s company is critical, especially in months when we tend to isolate.
Pubs have always been places where people come together. Brewpubs and many taprooms are family-friendly and welcome everyone in the community. They’re a great place for conversation and a meal, but if you’re looking for more entertainment, they probably offer that as well. Breweries routinely host live music, collective sports-watching, trivia nights, bar games and space for other games, speakers and presentations, educational events (Chetco Brewing recently held a Mushroom Festival), drag shows—the list goes on and on. Breweries have also been keen on offering nonalcoholic options, and will be happy to support their patrons’ Dry January goals. It’s increasingly common for breweries to make their own NA beer, many make a hop water or NA seltzer, and of course, they all have soda and coffee, too. It may not occur to people, but pubs are pretty good places to go during Dry January.
I am especially keen to promote Oregon breweries for this promotion, but of course it would be great to see the effort go national. So spread the word and, if you’re in Oregon, engages with Celebrate Oregon Beer to learn about events and activities happening near you. We’ll be active on Instagram and Facebook, and we’ll be going to weekly newsletters for the month. Sign up here to receive yours (it’s free and we’ll never share or monetize your info). Below are more images in different dimensions if you’d like to spread the word.
Get out of the house, people! #PubJanuary is almost here!
