Created: May 27, 2021 03:42 PM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) During the Finger Lakes COVID-19 Vaccine Hub’s weekly meeting Thursday, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello announced a new vaccine partnership with local breweries.
During the month of June, the “Choose Your Brew” program will allow anyone who gets the COVID-19 vaccine at a participating brewery to get a free beer. Non-beer drinkers will get a $5 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card at any Monroe County-operated vaccine clinic.
All brewery locations will be offering the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was granted emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for people 18 and older.
PHOTO BY GINO FANELLI Greg Searles, co-owner of Birdhouse Brewing in Honeoye, pours a pint of ale. As much as St. Patrick’s Day is an Irish holiday, it is also very much a beer holiday, one in which sales of suds increase by 174 percent on average, according to a WalletHub report. The American St. Patrick’s Day celebrates the culture of pub drinking, the all-day sipping sessions of the Emerald Isle’s low-alcohol, malty brews and the camaraderie that comes with it. But for the second year in a row, COVID-19 has put a damper on traditional revelry. “It really is sad,” said John Urlaub, owner of Rohrbach Brewing Company. “Not just as a brewery owner, but it’s part of who we are as Americans. I think social interaction is a key thing.”