Hogs Back Brewery has joined the likes of BrewDog, Oakman Inns and Loungers in offering the UK s vaccination effort a shot in the arm by suggesting that the NHS use its facilities to store and distribute Covid-19 jabs.
The Surrey-based beermaker, which has been brewing since 1992 and supplies pubs from Stonegate, Mitchells & Butlers and JD Wetherspoon, has offered its Hop Hangar as a drive-through vaccination facility.
The brewer has proposed to open large doors at either end of its hangar in Tongham, Surrey, for vaccine recipients to drive through with medical staff and chilled vaccines to be housed in its adjacent tap room bar.
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Before the pandemic struck, Rupert Thompson, the owner of the Hogs Back Brewery in Farnham, Surrey, purchased a hangar to store a hop picker and a kiln. His plan was to grow his own hops for reasons to do with the environment, local history and connection to his community.
But the crisis forced Thompson to upend his plans for the business. During the summer, the kiln was transformed into a stage for music acts and the hangar became a temporary bar. Underemployed brewing staff also turned their hand to carpentry – making tables, chairs and benches.