Craft brewery produces hand sanitiser

An independent Docklands craft brewery has joined the fight against COVID-19 – by reorganising production to make hand sanitiser.

Urban Alley Brewery’s 13 varieties of craft beer – which are still available for delivery – have now been joined by a hand sanitiser.

The initiative was motivated by a desire to keep staff employed and to continue to provide a service that meets the needs of the community. The product has generated in excess of 100 jobs throughout the whole supply chain.

The hand sanitiser is now available to order online with delivery and contactless pickup options. The team at Urban Alley Brewery said it was able to turn a three-month process around in just three weeks.

“Urban Alley Brewery was essentially shut down,” managing director Dean Grant said.

“We had to innovate to keep our wonderful team members employed. Together with our head brewer and brewer and development team we decided to use our resources and facilities to produce a product that meets the needs of our community – hand sanitiser.”

The “brew-pub” opened underneath the Melbourne Star at The District in September 2018, specialising in brewing craft beer into kegs and cans. They were the first to introduce E6PR biodegradable six pack holders in Australia.

The District Docklands CEO George Karabatsos commended the innovation.

“Urban Alley Brewery is a great example of a local Aussie business adjusting their operations to provide a much-needed product to their customers,” he said.

“As a CBD precinct, we have a large community of people that depend on us for essentials and we are committed to supporting them along with our incredible retailers.”

Urban Alley Brewery hand sanitiser hit the market in mid-April, with 100,000 units produced weekly. Mr Grant said he saw the innovation as a long-term business venture.

Two hand sanitisers are available, both with 70 per cent ethanol, online for delivery within a 50km radius of the CBD.

There are two, four, six and 12 packs available online at urbanalleyhandsanitiser.com •