Barrels of Fun with Craft Brewers

I went to my first Beer Festival two weeks ago. What a blast. The House Rules were pretty simple: $45 bought you 4-hours and a 4 oz. plastic tasting mug that you could fill (and re-fill) with golden samples of regional and national craft beers offered by more than 40 brewers. The place was packed: 1400 satisfied, ready-to-party customers. The weather conditions tailor made for the product offering: 92 degrees, 100 percent humidity.

The first annual Historic Odessa Brewfest took advantage of its pastoral setting (surrounded by an enclave of 18th and 19th century homes) to tap into the craft beer phenomenon. They even had a re-enactor demonstrate the colonial brewing process, in keeping with their historic surroundings. Yet archeological evidence dates brewing way back, to 7,000 B.C. if you can believe it.

Beer is a good business to be in these days (If you’ve got the time. We’ve got the beer.). It’s the third most popular drink in the world, after water and tea, and there are now more than 3,000 craft breweries in the United States, according to the Brewers Association.

Given those stats, there’s a high probability you already know somebody who left the corporate world to pursue the dream of becoming a craft brewer. It’s the hot new career. (Speaking of which, in the spring of 2015, Paul Smith’s College, a private, four-year college located in upstate New York, will be offering a minor in “craft beer studies.”)

If you live in a city, or traveled to one over the summer, chances are you stumbled across a Pop-Up Beer Garden or Brewpub (If you saw it in a commercial, we don’t have it) featuring exotic specialties and a laidback atmosphere.

Craft brewers are all about quality and innovation. They are fiercely independent and dedicated to interpreting historic brewing styles with a unique 21st century twist (I’m only here for the beer).

They connect with their customers in a personal, distinctive way and tend to be very philanthropic: sponsoring events, volunteering in the community, growing their businesses one free sample at a time.

These small brewers seem like very nice, happy people, but then again, they’re sampling their product multiple times a day under the guise of “quality control” (you’d be nice and happy, too).

Maybe that’s one reason they aren’t too concerned about their GIANT competitors who really aren’t their competitors, per se. Just last week Anheuser-Busch InBev (The King of Beers), the world’s No. 1 beer-maker, let it slip that they are talking to their banker about buying competitor SABMiller (The Champagne of Beers), the No. 2 industry player. Combined, these two companies currently control a third of the beer market.

Craft brewers don’t think in terms of billions. But one thing they do have in common with Big Beer is their creative marketing.

Their logo designs are fantastic, reminiscent of the old record album cover art from the 60’s: edgy, vibrant, whimsical.

And they are starting to get the hang of creating good tag lines (ex: The Beer so Good it’s Bad). But they still have a long way to go to compete with:

The beer that made Milwaukee famous.

Tastes great. Less filling.

It’s Miller time.

When you say Budweiser, you’ve said it all.

You never forget your first girl.

For all you do, this Bud’s for you.

I’m thinking it’s not a coincidence that there are 24 hours in a day and 24 cans in a case.