During the coronavirus pandemic, craft breweries around the country have moved much of their products into cans and bottles with so many consumers desiring to get their beer to-go and take it home, rather than venture out during a global health crisis.

Our local breweries certainly made some significant adjustments.

For instance, Ology Brewing purchased its own canning line last year and now virtually every beer they make goes into 4 packs.

Deep Brewing began offering resealable crowlers known as "stove pipes" that stay fresh, even if you decide to open them weeks after purchase.

Lake Tribe nearly tripled their canned core beers Red Cloud IPA and Satsuma Wheat to keep up with the demand from grocery stories like Publix.

And Proof Brewing started putting beers in cans off their tap list that could previously only be found in their tap room — and sometimes those beers were exclusive to just members of their Society of Liquid membership club.

Now we have another area craft brewery joining the canning game: Eastpoint Beer Company.

And guess what? Those who take part in our next #EpicBeerRun on March 21 will get the first crack at buying a piece of North Florida craft beer history.

Eastpoint will be selling any of its beers on draft in 6 packs insleek, black cans with white labels — and we are so excited to finally do an EBR to EBC after previously hitting every other Tallahassee-area brewery with one of these runs (except Eastpoint, which was closed for much of 2020 due to the pandemic) leading up to this.

ICYMI, an Epic Beer Run works like this: We pick a brewery that's further away than most want to drive just to pick up beer. Then we give you a window of time to order online from this brewery. And after the cut-off date to order — which is March 21 in this case — the Beer Society heads to the brewery and WE pick up all the beer that was ordered and bring it back to Tallahassee for you to enjoy.

We're just a glorified proxy — and we're cool with that. As long as these Epic Beer Runs get some great area craft beer in your hands — and we support our outer-area breweries during a time when many still aren't taking day trips — it's worth every bit of the gasoline burned and time spent it takes to make them happen.

To take part in this run, simply go to EastpointBeerCo.com and place your order. Just be sure to note "For TLH Beer Society pickup" in your ordering notes so Eastpoint knows it's part of this Epic Beer Run and will hold your order in their cooler until we drive down to pick it up Sunday, March 21.

Once we return to Tallahassee, we'll coordinate pickups with all those who ordered. You can also add Eastpoint merchandise — like hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts, growlers or stickers — to your order and we'll be sure to grab that too.

Any questions for us about this latest Epic Beer Run? Shoot us an email at tlhbeersociety@gmail.com and we'll be sure to get back to you right away!

Deep set for Mini-Stoutfest this weekend

Deep Brewing had its Mini-Stoutfest set for last year around this same time when the pandemic forced the postponement. But because they had all the beers ready to go, Deep sold the stouts over the course of the next few months all in the aforementioned stovepipes to-go.

But this weekend you'll be able to taste them all at once on a baller-looking tap list that includes two stout bottle releases, several candy bar-inspired stouts and a host of new breakfast stouts. 

Speaking of breakfast, Deep's resident food truck, The Slide Hustle, will have their regular offering of gourmet sliders and Cuban sandwiches Friday and Sunday, but Saturday they will add a special breakfast menu for patrons to pair with Deep's breakfast stouts. Sweet-tea brined chicken and waffles, biscuit and gravy flights, Eggs Benedict with local Register's smoked sausage, and made-to-order avocado toast are the one-day-only items being added to the menu.

You can view all the details on Deep's Stoutfest at https://fb.me/e/1jEo9sm49

Ladies That Beer bus trip to Southern Fields

With the Tallahassee Brew Bus (which we own and operate) still grounded due to the pandemic (but returning soon), our friends at Southern Fields Brewing can't wait on us to get people out to their gorgeous new brewery in Campbellton, which is roughly 80 miles West of Tallahassee. So they have chartered bus trips a couple of times from Tallahassee out to their spot, and they have another one planned for Saturday, March 27.

This time it's in cooperation with the TLH Ladies That Beer — our sister craft beer group focused on the women who enjoy our craft beer scene.

The tickets are $20 each and pandemic protocols have been put in place to ensure everyone's safety.

If you're interested in riding the bus to check out Southern Fields or want to learn more details about the trip, visit southernfieldsbrewing.com/ladiesthatbeerbus

Danny Aller is the co-founder, along with Matthew Crumbaker, of the TLH Beer Society, a group of avid craft beer lovers. Reach the Beer Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or email: tlhbeersociety@gmail.com.