Truth in Beervertising: An Honest Approach to Beer Marketing

I've got to hand it to Breckenridge Brewing Company. They've created something truly special with their summer campaign for "truth in beervertising". Most craft breweries don't have large advertising budgets. Most of their marketing dollars are spent getting their beer onto the shelves, not onto your televisions and newspapers. But Breckenridge saw the value in pushing their name out to the masses, and did so in a brilliant way.

If you haven't seen the ads, check them out.

Brilliant, aren't they? Being an advertising professional., I dug into these ads a bit more. They were created by the agency Cultivator, who also represents New Belgium and Great Divide. As an advertising partner who clearly knows their stuff when it comes to craft beer, they did an excellent job with this campaign and kept it low cost. To produce the four spots, they only spent $10,000 (a modest production budget, for those unfamiliar) and one day at the brewing facility with Brewmaster and General Manager, Todd Ursy.

The true genius of these ads comes from the honesty. Every craft beer love can probably attest to a time they've rolled their eyes when a macrobrewer tries to claim their beer has a "cold flavor", or even worse, that it will make you popular, attractive, or more fun. Breckenridge concisely cuts through the crap with such delightful deadpan. For craft beer lovers, a lot of the messaging is familiar. Almost a "well, duh" moment. But for anyone who has ever checked a can to see if their beer is cold, these ads serve as a wake up call in a humorous and straightforward way.

So, kudos to Breckenridge for making the investment in TV advertisements. While the spots may be low budget, the real money is spent buying media placements. This spot ran during sports games, local news, and Sunday prime time in the Denver area. Biting the bullet and shelling out the money to get these ingenious ads probably wasn't an easy call to make. But it's time that those who haven't been exposed to truly great beer got an education on the stupid gimmicks they've been buying into. And at least in Denver and the far reaches of the internet, we've got Breckenridge to thank for that.

Guest Post: Grey Collar: The American craft beer drinker's ethos

The other night, while sitting on my porch and staring at the moon, I poured myself a Liberty Ale and allowed my mind to wander. Amidst the orchestral notes of crickets and wind, I felt that primal sense of peace familiar to anyone who has taken the time to simply sit and think. In that moment of blissful simplicity, I could not help but smile as I raised my glass and the boquet of northwestern hops filled my senses. The aromatic assault triggered memories of days gone by, my journey to beer, and summers filled with nothing but possibility.

It's curious that such a simple thing -- a pint of ale -- can incite reminiscence of an entire lifetime's accomplishments. As I sipped it, I began to think in more general terms, or rather what it is that people do to make a living. Musing over the stereotypes of blue- and white-collar designations, I struggled to understand whether or not the distinction applies to the realm of craft beer. Sure, there will always be people with more money than others, and of course there will always be those who work harder than others. However, I began to notice a commonality in the two classes – each being perfectly capable of enjoying the “finer” things in life. Often times I've found myself lost in conversation over a pint at Founders, still coated in grain dust after a shift at Siciliano's, while my companion has only just left an office cubicle. We don't discuss our social status, or net worth, but simply revel in the appreciation of a finely crafted ale.

While I sipped my Liberty Ale I realized something. We that choose to drink craft beer -- the ecclectic many, the renaissance people, the purveyors of craft and expression -- we are people who have committed ourselves to seeking out and admiring what others have worked so hard for us to enjoy. With each bottle poured and pint savored, we make a silent oath to ourselves and to others: we will find decadence every day, even in something so simple as a well crafted beer. The color of one's collar is not important in this world, as we are all equal and free in our pursuit of whatever it is that brings us joy. The society created is a true melting pot of cultures, creeds, and all other forms of classification that are almost otherwise ignored the moment a conversation about beer perks up.

As I finished my pint I could not help but feel truly grateful to be involved with this “grey collar” society. The passionate and heartfelt people who comprise it are some of the most wonderful people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. My pint emptied, I smiled, for in this world there is no shortage of possibility. I look forward to having more enthralling conversations, and seeing all of you fellow beer enthusiasts out and about.


This guest post comes to us from Doug Dorda a friend for many years and the one who introduced me to the world of craft beer.The picture to the left was taken on an epic brewery touring day with Doug and some other good friends.With his massive influence on my own love of beer,it was only a matter of time before he merited a guest post on Beerific!  Aside from being a beer geek, Doug is a home brewer and is employed at Siciliano's Market in Grand Rapids, Michigan This post, borrowed with permission from the Siciliano's blog, The Buzz, was the inspiration for Beerific! I hope you enjoyed.

Guest Review: The India Spruce Pilsner by Shorts Brewing

A guest review from friend of the blog, Ryan, contributor for Cleveland Hops.

When Emily first asked me to do a guest post on her blog, I decided that I wanted to do a beer review.  Being that Emily is a Michigan girl, and I am an Ohio boy, I thought, why don’t I review something from a Michigan brewery?  Furthermore, why not review something from a brewery that only distributes in Michigan?  If you know me, then you probably know where I am going with this.  Yes, I am talking about Shorts Brewery in Bellaire, Michigan.  Shorts is known for creative, unique beers.  Whenever I am in Michigan, I always pick up as many Shorts beers as I can.  Some of my favorites from them include:

• Uber Goober Stout: An oatmeal stout brewed with peanuts.
• PB&J:  For this brew, Shorts takes their fruit ale, The Soft Parade, and blends it with Uber Goober Stout to form a beer that tastes like peanut butter and jelly.
• Strawberry Short’s Cake: Fresh strawberries, lactose, and biscuit malts form the basis for a golden ale that tastes almost exactly like its name would lead you to believe.

Another favorite of mine from Shorts is the beer that I am about to review, their India Spruce Pilsner.  The following is a description of this beer from Shorts:

This Imperial Pilsner, fermented with local, hand-picked blue spruce tips is the quintessential symbol for Joe Short’s love of hops and craft beer. The spruce presence, rooted in historical brewing practices, is enormous and gives the beer a refreshing quality reminiscent of gin. This beer is impressively light bodied, considering the immense spruce flavors and the prodigious additions of hops.

The beer was poured at about 50^o into my Dogfish Head Signature Glass.

Appearance: The beer pours a nice shade of gold with a minimal but existent head.  As the head leaves us and I take a few sips, sticky lacing remains on the glass.

Smell: Holy moses…I smell pine, lots of pine!  It’s almost as if I am bringing the Christmas tree up from the basement.  Is the heavy pine scent in this beer a bad thing?  Well, it could be if the scent was solely pine; fortunately, the pine was accompanied by the smell of lovely citrus hops.  The best words I can use to describe this smell are, in the words of Outkast, “so fresh and so clean clean.” 

Taste: Wow…the pine from the smell is definitely not playing around; it’s here and it means business!  While the pine is definitely the dominant flavor, hops and lemon bitterness poke their heads to truly compliment the pine.  The finish is quite bitter, and the pine flavor lingers on the tongue for quite a while.  The flavor of this beer is incredibly unique, and I have to say that I absolutely love it.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a level of carbonation that was spot on for the imperial pilsner style.  I just love how the pine is deciding to hang around a little while longer on my taste buds!

Overall, this is a remarkably unique beer.  I am not sure that it is something that you could enjoy multiples of in a session, however. While the 7.1% ABV is barely noticeable, I believe that the pine flavor would get the best of you in the long run.  Regardless, this beer is an innovative take on the imperial pilsner style, and its fresh taste is something that I wish I could enjoy year-round.  Let me put this idea out there.  While many of us could not see an imperial pilsner making a suitable cold-weather beer, allow me to play devil’s advocate. Certainly, this beer could be very refreshing on a warm, summer day.  However, the smell and taste of pine immediately reminds me of a Christmas tree.  I think it would be interesting to drink a beer like this around Christmas time.  Sure, it is most definitely a far cry from our beloved winter warmers, but who says being different is a bad thing?  From my experiences with Shorts Brewing, I can attest that being different is where they shine! 

Ryan is a Clevelander and has been one of the many in the area who are instrumental in bringing the local craft beer community here. He is a high school math teacher and a marathon runner when he isn't pursuing his love of delicious ales. In addition to this wonderful guest post, Ryan is a contributor for Cleveland Hops. You can read some of his other writings here and here.

(Side note: I'm still completely down for the count with mono. If you are interested in doing a guest post for Beerific, please let me know!)

Left out on IPA Day? Boo!

Just a real quick update to let everyone know that I'm a bit out of commission at the moment, on the most untimeliest of circumstances. I've got mono and will have to keep away from beer for a while. Today's been torture, reading everyone's tweets, posts, and blogs about how great IPA Day it. I've got to hand it to @thebeerwench - it's great to see our amazing craft beer community rally behind such a fun event across the country. I'm celebrating in spirit.

On a slightly related note, if anyone is interested in doing a guest post while I'm down for the count, it would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers (hopefully soon)!