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​​​Production of Ethanol-Based Hand Sanitizer in Breweries During the COVID-19 Crisis​​

¹Raft Beer Labs, Calgary, AB, Canada

The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 has overwhelmed health systems, created economic turmoil, and disrupted supply chains around the world. One of the earliest and most severe supply chain disruptions occurred in alcohol-based hand sanitizer, a critical resource in combating the spread of coronaviruses. Many breweries and distilleries quickly arrived at the same conclusion: their facilities could produce hand sanitizer to help mitigate viral transmission in their communities while sustaining revenues through the crisis. With bureaucracies at all levels of government caught off guard, they were not able to give clear direction to businesses to make this pivot, leaving businesses to find their own way through various regulatory mazes. This manuscript describes the means taken by the brewing and distilling community in Alberta, Canada, that facilities can replicate to get high-quality hand sanitizers to market safely and efficiently.

Keywords: hand sanitizer, COVID-19, brewery, distillery, alcohol-based, ethanol-based, safety

​More resources are available on the Master Brewers COVID-19 webpage​.