Latest OBW News

As Brew Week 2020 has come to close we still have stories to tell. Below, we have an interview from Tristen Phipps, General Manager of Eclipse Company Store, a crown jewel in the Athens area for Craft Beer and live music. She couldn't join us for a live feed, but she sent us answers to the questions below.

Enjoy!

1. How are you doing?!? Anything good come from this time during the pandemic?

We're doing good. Well, we've learned to adapt and understand what we're capable of. We know what our limits are and what our strengths have been during the pandemic. I'm happy to say that our strength has been in creating a completely contact-less system to bring food and beer to our customers. We're happy with what we've put in place and our staff feels safe coming to work and that's what really matters. We've also been able to slow down and focus on putting out interesting food and drink specials. We're all enjoying having the time to be more creative right now, whether that's with menu items or the process in which we do things, it's been a time of constant adaptation and a unique opportunity to learn and grow as a team.

2. What is something you'd like the public to know about your establisment during this time?

We want the public to know that safety is paramount at Eclipse. Our thought process since this started was to put the safety of our staff and customers at the forefront. We've found a tried and true way to bring our food and beer to customers, to allow them to dine outside and carry out without having physical contact. We have some customers that haven't eaten out since this started in March and they're choosing Eclipse. We've worked so hard to come up with this system and keep it in place. Our employees are wearing masks at all times, we're gloving up when we come into contact with anything our customers will touch, we're sanitizing bathrooms every hour, we're washing hands and taking temps ... we're really doing everything we can do to make sure everyone is safe.

3. What is a craft beer or cider you want people to check out from you? Could be a classic or could be something new? and why?

Our classic locally brewed beer is Jackie O's Ricky. It's a staple and it's the gateway from domestic to craft. We're also excited about the beer we asked Devil's Kettle to brew for us. It's called Athens Standard and it's an Eclipse and DK exclusive. We released it the weekend that everything shut down, as we celebrated our third birthday in March. It's a Pilsner/Pale Ale hybrid made with cascade hops. Lastly, we're excited about Wolf's Ridge Brewing out of Columbus. We've had them on tap for a few months now and we're consistenly impressed with the quality of their brew. We currently have Leisurely on tap, which is a raspberry wheat beer. We have Heartlandia on deck which is an easy-drinking lager. We've also got to get our hands on their Daybreak which is a coffee cream ale.

4. Ohio Brew Week has been going on for 15 years. What does that mean to you? what does that mean to your business? Why do you support OBW?

That's incredible! Eclipse usually preps for OBW months in advance. With 32-40 taps to fill we have so much beer to bring in and so many wonderful Ohio breweries to partner with. Last year after it wrapped up I referred to it as "the most wonderful time of the year". It's a whirlwind, we have tap takeovers and live music every single day of Brew Week (under normal circumstances). OBW really helps drive sales and brings us new customers that are excited about craft beer and love what we're doing at Eclipse. It feels like a little piece of magic that's unique to Athens and our incredible beer scene. We support Ohio Brew Week because OBW supports Ohio Beer. In our ordering we make an effort to regularly bring in at least 50% Ohio beer. We bring in national brands but it's important to support people who are brewing right here in Ohio.

5. How can our fans support you in this time?

They can support us in several ways. If they're comfortable dining outside or carrying out, they can do that ... grab a meal and a growler or a pint to go. If they aren't ready to go out yet they can buy a gift card or just tell a friend about us or leave us a review if they've dined with us and are happy with everything. Support right now comes in all forms and it's really about what people are comfortable with.

6. Anything else you'd like to share?

We're just happy we've been able to find a way to be open. We can continue to keep our staff employed, order from Ohio breweries, and get back to sourcing food from local vendors like Cowdery and the Chesterhill Produce Auction, all in a way that we feel good about. We can't thank our customers enough for their support through this, it takes the whole community to keep local places in business right now and we really appreciate it. ... See MoreSee Less