CEO James ‘Jimmy’ Sands described Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19 as a trip in the ring with Leonard “Boston Blackie” Miller, and receiving not one but two of his signature ‘bola’ punches.

Gary Sands,(Jimmy’s son), executives, and staff of the Bahamian Brewery & Beverage Company Ltd., (BBB) have made significant progress in restoring Sands Beer and are looking to have it available in late September.

Brewery executives began cleaning the state of the art facility and liquor store immediately after Hurricane Dorian, which inundated the plant with a 4ft surge of seawater in September 2019. Jimmy reached out to his technical advisors from Germany to help him rebuild the brewery.

While aiming for a May relaunch of the famous Sands Beer, the Brewery was unfortunately sidelined by the outbreak of the global Covid-19 pandemic, forcing the highly skilled German team to return home.

As local restrictions have begun to roll back, BBB’s plans for full restoration are finally back on track and the German team is on the island and completing their work on the plant.

To limit the team’s potential exposure to the COVID-19 virus, and to avoid any further delays with recovery efforts, Jimmy took every precautionary measure to ensure pre-travel COVID-19 testing.

“Our company Brewtech has been a technical partner of Bahamian Brewery from the very beginning and over the years a close relationship has developed,” said Brewtech Commercial Director Andrea Baumeister.

“It was a shock to see what hurricane Dorian had done to the brewery, so I am glad that we were able to send our team and get back in the flow. Now we see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Conscious of the country’s regulations and guidelines, the brewery has taken painstaking measures to adhere to all the necessary COVID-19 protocols, explained BBB GB General Manager, Donny Delahey.

“The entire team was tested and we secured the necessary travel clearances to enter the country; and of course we’re continuing to observe mask-wearing protocols and social distancing with the consultation team and our staff.”

With work now in full swing, Bahamian Brewery is one step closer to reintroducing our consumers’ favourite Sands and Sands Light. Bush Crack, High Rock lager, Strong Back Stout, Triple B malt, and Sands Radlers will be produced at a later date.

“We have been blown away by the support and loyalty of our customers during this time and by what you all have done thus far – it’s a miracle,” noted the CEO while speaking to his Grand Bahama staff last week.

“I’m doing my best and with the help of you all, we will get some normalcy back. We need to stay disciplined, focused, and together we will float this boat!”

With the first batch of Sands already being brewed for the end of September bottling, on a now faster and larger producing system, Jimmy Sands is getting off the mat with his head held high. “We will once again as Bahamians stand tall, and pride ourselves on the accomplishments that we have displayed during this long relentless round.”

Grand Bahamas’ “Truly Bahamian” brewery opened in 2007 with the launch of its first beer SANDS.  The 20-acre brewery is located on the intersection on Queen’s Highway and Grand Bahama Way and is a 100% Bahamian owned business. The brewery also produces “Triple B”, a natural malt drink, sold via Asa H Pritchard Distributors as well as STRONG BACK, SANDS LIGHT, HIGH ROCK, BUSH CRACK as well as Sands Radler brands.  Bahamian Brewery and Beverage team currently employs just over 80 staff and has a second operation base for its liquor distribution in Nassau, on a three-acre warehouse and office complex in Nassau’s Airport Industrial Park. All Bahamian Brewery & Beverage products are also available at Bristol Wines & Spirits locations, Simms Brothers, and your truly Bahamian outlets.

With the first batch of Sands already being brewed for the end of September bottling, Bahamian Brewery is one step closer to reintroducing their consumers’ favourite Sands and Sands Light. Bush Crack, High Rock lager, Strong Back Stout, Triple B malt, and Sands Radlers will be produced at a later date.(Photo courtesy of Bahamian Brewery for Barefoot Marketing)

A young Grand Bahamian technician, John Storr, fine-tunes the components needed for the reinstallation of state of the art brewing equipment at BBB's Grand Bahama Factory. Hurricane Dorian, which inundated the plant with a 4ft surge of seawater in September 2019, and COVID-19 gave the truly Bahamian two 'bola' punches said the CEO.(Photo courtesy of Derek Caroll for Barefoot Marketing)

The team of technicians was tested and prepped for travel via a charter aircraft arranged by the Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company. Painstaking measures were taken to ensure that all Covid-19 travel guidelines were adhered to.(Photo courtesy of Brewtech for Barefoot Marketing)