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One of the distinguishing characteristics of a great brewery or tap room is that they always have a great brand. Breweries are actually some of the most creative branding people in the hospitality market at a micro level. The best breweries pay a lot of attention to what their brand stands for and make that come to life in their products, packaging, promotions and, above all, in their tap room. How do the best brewers bring their brand to life? It's about honesty in the brand identity.
Take Ghost Town Brewing, West Oakland CA. They’re not a GoTab customer. These guys are huge metal heads, they’re super cool guys. They make amazing beer, but they own their personalities, like no one else.
If you walk into their brewery, they're blasting everything from grind core to classic Judas Priest. They’re playing themed movies on the projector, coffins throughout the venue and even have an Iron Maiden pinball machine. They know who they are. And they lean into that so hard because that's brand honesty. They're opening themselves up and saying, “this is who we are. If you can’t handle loud music and strong beers, this might not be the place for you.” At the same time, they are accessible. Their staff are super friendly. They know a lot about the beer. But at the same time, it's so accessible because you walk in there and they're super friendly. They know about the beer and have a beer for everyone. They have a great English Cream Ale called Scumbag. It's $3 per pint 365 days a year if you can get it because it sells out fast. What Ghost Town Brewing does sounds like a lot of effort, but it’s not if you’re honest about what you want your brewery’s brand identity to be.
If You Want to Eat with the Rich, Feed the Masses
The more that you can get a wider audience, and keep them really interested in what you're offering, the more success you’ll experience over the long term. A great example of this is Stone Brewing. Stone is a GoTab customer. They are the ninth largest brewery distributor in the nation and have enjoyed wild success both operationally and with their brand.
Founded in 1996, Stone pioneered the West Coast Style IPA, helping to fuel the modern craft beer revolution and inspire generations of hop fanatics. Today Stone operates breweries in Escondido, CA and Richmond, VA plus seven tap room and bistro locations. Stone offers a wide range of craft beers including its most popular Stone IPA, Stone Delicious IPA and Stone Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager. Stone has been called the “All-time Top Brewery on Planet Earth” by BeerAdvocate magazine twice.
One of the most memorable aspects of their visual brand is the Stone Gargoyle. Here’s how they describe the significance of the Stone Gargoyle to their brand:
It takes a lot to orchestrate a great brand and brand experience in a brewery and tap room of their size. Stone Brewing has made investments, over the long term, to be able to pull it off.
In our next video, we talk about the difference between being right, and being rich, when it comes to the brewery business.
