WA’s Otherside Brewing Co is responding to the COVID-19 fallout with an affordable ‘simple ale’ called Plan C, which it says is inspired by the current circumstances.

The ‘simple ale’ will arrive on shelves on 8th April. Otherside say it is a “great craft product but at a super accessible price” ensuring that “no-one has to downgrade to ‘a boring lager’.”

Plan C: Simple Ale will only be available for an initial three months and is priced at $16 for a six pack or $40 per 18 can packs.

The beer will be available online 9 April or at Otherside Brewing Co, Freo.Social, Liquor Barons from 14 April and other selected independent retailers.

The move follows fears across the industry that local breweries will struggle to survive the pandemic, which has forced the closure of pubs, hotels and other venues across the country.

Despite big brewer Lion and CUB’s claims that they could run out of beer for three months if forced to shut down, many in the industry are more concerned with the viability of smaller breweries which do not have the same resources.

Otherside Brewing Co general manager Steve Finney said that Plan C: Simple Ale was developed as a result the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the craft beer an broader community.

“We’ve worked with our brewers, partners and suppliers and pressed hard on price to pull Plan C together and get it out to the market as quickly as possible,” he said.

“Plan C: Simple Ale is a great, easy-drinking ale, with passionfruit aromatics, that we are confident will become a firm favourite.

“People are doing the right thing and self-isolating at home but that brings uncertainly to our industry as we currently know it.

“We’ve had to spend a lot of time thinking about how we can move forward and keep our fresh brews in the hands of our community. It’s caused us to get really creative, to shake up our thinking and truly innovate. “

In addition, Otherside are bringing in a free home delivery service, along with many other breweries across Australia as they attempt to offset the drop off in on-premise sales with packaged beer deliveries.

The team will also be launching virtual beer tastings, run by cicerone Matt Marinich, and include guided tastings of our ‘tasting packs’ for home delivery.