Rip Current Brewing adopted screw top crowlers in 2020, and (unrelated) may have new ownership in 2021 It will surprise exactly no one that most of the biggest beer and beverage stories of 2020 revolve around the most impactful happening of this or any year: the covid-19 pandemic. Public response to the coronavirus wreaked havoc on the everyday business of serving beer. Workers catch the brunt of the pandemic The beer industry came into the year credited with making a billion dollar-plus economic impact annually, while directly employing about 6,500. The loss of such jobs has been the most widespread impact of the pandemic, as shutdowns and heavily restrictive social distancing guidelines forced many breweries to cut employee hours, furlough staff, or lay them off altogether.