Surly Bender
Star Tribune
More than 120 craft breweries opened in the United States last year.
That makes 1,716 craft breweries total.
THOUGHT: Craft beer, microbreweries, and craft brewing are definitely taking hold in the US. Practically no one was searching for “craft beer” in 2006 but in 2007 people began to gain interest and that interest picked up steam in 2008 and has been steadily growing since.
I believe this interest in craft beers is at least partly explained by a general desire to better understand that which we put into our bodies, a trend that applies to all food and explains the organic movement, but also a desire for higher quality and finer ingredients.
The popularity of the microbrew movement can also be seen in the number and popularity of beer-related infographics that have made their way through the Interwebs. These infographics are often educational, aimed at enlightening the recipient about the finer points of craft beer.
You also see this movement manfiest itself in citizens self-organizing and self-education through such things as meetups and beer trades, organized through sites like reddit.
While most of this interest has been driven from the brewery side, the follow-on trend is in home brewing of craft beer. We’ve seen search volume for “craft brewing” pick up in 2010 and continue into 2011. Even the President is doing it.
Craft beer lovers tend to be pretty passionate about their favorite brews and that makes for a fascinating marketing environment as smart brewers harness that passion for their marketing efforts.
One such brewer is Flying Dog. The company thoroughly engages their fans/customers but they are a shining example of how to create a consistent online voice. I wrote up a case study of their online efforts back in 2008.
MINNESOTA MONDAY: We’ve been blessed in Minnesota with a vibrant craft brewing community and two local brews that have gained quite a bit of prominence (and two of my favorites): Summit Beer and Surly Beer. If you like hoppy beer, you can’t go wrong with Surly’s Furious.
They also do a very good job marketing themselves.
You can call me a fanboy.
Thank you for innovators.
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