The premise was simple — do something, anything — and the outcome profound.

When Other Half Brewing in Brooklyn, Stout Collective in Chicago and Craftpeak in Asheville set out to design a collaborative beer and marketing campaign to benefit hospitality workers, it had to have been hard to imagine 718 participating breweries spanning 48 states and 51 countries.

"Our goal was to be proactive," Other Half's co-founder Sam Richardson said. "This is our opportunity to show people that we care. The point is for everyone to realize how interconnected we are. And people responded immediately."

Seeking a way to aid breweries coping with taproom closures and disappearing distribution to bars, as well as to support the hospitality workers who have lost jobs or hours, All Together was created. 

Instead of us telling you about the open-sourced IPA and campaign, we felt the opening to the letter published on alltogether.beer was so well-written that sharing it with our Tallahassee beer family would be best.

Dear breweries of the world,

There is an inextricable link that binds together everyone in the hospitality industry. Brewers, servers, bartenders, bussers, dishwashers, GMs, buyers, chefs, owners—we are all in this together. In this industry, when one of us struggles, the rest of us pick them up. It's baked into who we are.

All Together is a worldwide, open-ended beer collaboration created to raise support for the industry we love so much. It's an effort to raise awareness and provide relief, even in the smallest way, to those who are struggling. 

The letter goes on to say that the recipe, label artwork, social media graphics, and even printed labels (produced at cost) are being made available to all participants — with one stipulation: Some portion of proceeds must go back to hospitality workers.

As for the rest? All Together wants breweries to use the cost-effective recipe and marketing to generate additional revenues to weather the storm. 

The recipe, developed by Other Half, was done with simplicity and access to ingredients in mind. It's so simple, in fact, that homebrew versions scaled to five-gallon batches are readily available.

And the resulting brew? Well, Christopher Jones, co-owner of Georgia Beer Company in Valdosta described it to us as "juicy, delicious, scrumptious." 

From Brooklyn to Tallahassee

Our breweries are rallying around the cause. Locally, Ology is one of 29 Florida breweries looking to do its part by participating in All Together, and one of the first to publish a release date for the beer: May 21. We're looking forward to head brewer Nick Walker's spin on the beer. Ology's official announcement on Facebook underscored how honored it was to have been one of the breweries initially invited to participate in the collaboration. 

Georgia Beer all-in on All Together  

We enjoy the ability to taste the different spins that each brewery puts on the same recipe. Folks who relish such an opportunity may have time to score Georgia Beer Company's version of All Together and benefit people just up the road in Valdosta.

The brewery has been taking pre-orders, and even rolled out specialty shirts for the release. If you're interested, order at georgiabeerco.square.site and prepare to head up to the Azalea City. 

The worldwide collaboration isn't the only big news out of Georgia Beer Company, as it's announced it will be reopening its beer garden. Owners Chris Jones and J. Ryce Martin are taking a measured approach and will be limiting the number of patrons per table in the garden, enforcing the amount of space between folks and maintaining strict sanitation procedures.

Oyster City Brewing back online

In a time we could all use some positive news, our friends at Oyster City Brewing announced this week that their online ordering is open.

While we've had no issue getting our hands on delicious Oyster City offerings thanks to their cans being widely distributed around Tallahassee, folks in Apalachicola can resume ordering through the brewery's website oystercitybrewing.smartonlineorder.com and pick up 1-5 p.m. daily.

Positive signs at Eastpoint

While Eastpoint Beer Company has not been selling beer during the pandemic, progress is being made. After a relatively quiet month on social media — with the exception of some incredible footage of a waterspout on the bay — owner Josh Parker showed off some new epoxy flooring in the brewery and mentioned that things had been fine-tuned around the brewhouse in preparation for whatever lies ahead. Can't wait for one of their trademark "brews with a view."

Matthew Crumbaker is co-founder of the TLH Beer Society, a group of avid craft beer lovers. He is also a co-host of Saturday Morning Bottle Share on 97.9 ESPN radio. Email tlhbeersociety@gmail.com.