Beer sellers working overtime to meet demand ahead of snowstorm

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - Along with stocking up on bread and milk for the upcoming winter storm, people also want to know where they can get their alcohol.

Demand for beer has been enormous this week. At Bob Hall, a beer distributor in Upper Marlboro, they have been working since Monday to make sure that when the snow starts falling, you will have a cold one in your hand.

This distributor is working hard to finish getting beer to all of its customers before the storm arrives because their trucks will not be able to get around during the big storm. They have been working a lot of overtime and extra trucks have left their warehouse each day early in the morning and are not coming back until late at night.

"Snowstorms like this that come in on a Friday and over the weekend is probably the best situation for us because people are home, they are safe, they are not driving anywhere, they are not working," said Mike Hudson, operations manager for Bob Hall. "And what are they doing to do? Eat, drink and be merry."

Bob Hall sells 200 brands of beer, including Budweiser, Bud Light and Corona. They need to get the brews to their 900 customers all around Maryland - bars, restaurants and liquor stores.

They are doing extra deliveries so that the people who are off work on Friday can drink and enjoy the snow day, while the retailers can be fully stocked in case the storm really hits hard and people are off next week too.

"They want the beer in case people don't go to work for three or four days next week, so if people are off Monday and Tuesday next week, and we can't get the beer to them, they are going to carry extra stock," said Hudson.

By the end of the day, they expect all of their deliveries to be made to the restaurants and liquor stores that you use, so when the blizzard starts, you will have a beer in your hand.