Firstly, the designs of the labels are so different, edgy, unconventional, the contents of the beer is almost secondary. They scream....I'm out of the ordinary! I'm not what your Dad drinks! If you drink me you'll be cool in the eyes of your peers. That's all a bit concerning for the label designs of the established brewers whose brands communicate different values.
Secondly, its about discovery and knowledge. In the shop were two other people, both young men and both interested in learning a little about the brewer of the beers they had chosen as well as how the beer tastes. All very commendable that its not just about the abv, they have a thirst for beer knowledge as well as the beer itself. They were also keen to try new beers, its about discovery as well as having some favourites. Finally, they want their newly discovered brewers to do well and be popular but at the same time its great that a beer is not always available, making it a bit special when found. As a marketer, its like craft is the brand, rather than any of the beers in the category.
Beers that do grow and become well known are still welcome and drinkers want to see successful beers. However, the commercial realities of up scaling heavily hopped beers using expensive third world hops may fall on inexperienced ears.
Thirdly, its about 330ml IPA. In terms of packaging, although there were more 330ml cans on the shelf, there were significantly more 330ml bottles on show and very few 500ml bottles with the exception of some of the German beers. The IPA word acts like a magnet and is still the buzzword and call to action for purchase. Easy communication of beer styles needs to form part of any design and the IPA term seems to transcend all designs, whereas other beer style names are less imposing. Many of the established brewers have still not grasped the importance of beer styles and their key in the decision to buy so here's a chance for the craft brewers to take the lead and get this right. The problem is that the very nature of the powerful and sometimes aggressive label designs leads to confusion on the shelf as each label tries to shout louder than its neighbour to get noticed. Hence the one consistent piece of branding that gets noticed is the beer style i.e. IPA
Finally and somewhat belatedly I think its about quality. This seems less important and drinkers are more accepting of beers that are of less than perfect condition, funkiness as in off flavours is perceived as good in some cases. Other beer styles are slowly coming to the fore, but at the moment its the hop flavour that's desired most and so long as a beer sings spicy citrus and bitter hops all day long, it can overcome its imperfections.
So what of the beers I purchased. I tried a Black Flag White Cross IPA and Beavertown Lupuloid IPA in cans. Both good beers but I preferred the Beavertown beer, it had more depth of flavour, more condition and felt like the brewer had tried to create a blend of hops flavours rather than just add as many hops as possible. I finished with a Saison Dupont, a classic beer and the standard bearer for Saisons. I enjoyed them all, BUT, they certainly left a dent in my pocket and compared to the 500ml Premium Packaged ales I normally buy, I was choosing "discovery and cool" over value for money.
So if this is the future, what of the present? Fear not 500ml bottle drinkers there is plenty to enjoy yet but that's for another blog.
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