BLOOMFIELD, Conn. — Last month, we told you about the struggles of the Thomas Hooker Brewery in Bloomfield. Curt Cameron, the owner of the Thomas Hooker Brewery was forced to lay off all of his restaurant and tap room staff and he saw 35 percent of his beer sales evaporate overnight -- all due to the effects of COVID-19.
But, the production line at Hooker Brewery is still moving thanks to, Cameron says, some innovative ideas. Cameron and his team will introduce “CBD Seltzer” next week. “I’m not aware of any other Connecticut craft brewer who is doing this,” Cameron said. The new black cherry flavored CBD Seltzer contains no alcohol and is providing a boost to workers at the brewery. Cameron said, “we’ve been hard hit like everyone from Covid-19 and we started looking into diversification strategies to keep our guys working.”
Currently, Cameron says none of this brewery workers have been laid off. “Between this product and a couple of others, “ Cameron said, “our goal is to keep one hundred percent of our production staff.”
The Hooker Brewery team is also busy working on a gluten-free beer, and Cameron added, their hope is they will be able to open their newly built restaurant and remodeled tap room in the weeks to come.