Craft Beer: The Global Movement

Key extracts from https://www.packagingstrategies.com/articles/89629-craft-beer-the-global-movement

“Consumers are looking to the breweries and the packaging to articulate how it tastes, why you brew beer and best reflect the brewery. This will turn everyone into an evangelist for the product,”

Brynestad knows firsthand how strong branding can directly increase sales. He worked with Deschutes Brewery to redesign the brewery’s lineup of beer and the result was wildly successful, 40% increase in sales for two of its popular beers – Black Butte Porter and Obsidian Stout.


Package type and design

So what about the debate of cans versus bottles? I heard so much more about cans at the conference than bottles but bottles remain the dominant way that craft beer gets to the beer drinker, with 58% in market, and cans representing 12% (and 30% draft pours). That 12% though is a big increase from 2011 where cans only made up 2% of the market, according to the Brewers Association. A few of the breweries I spoke with – including Tin Roof Brewing out of Baton Rouge, LA – only can their beer, and always have. Brewers prefer the can’s light and oxygen-blocking abilities, as well as 360-degree canvas. While canning is certainly a strong growth area in craft beer, it isn’t exactly a new idea. Oskar Blues claims to be the original craft beer in a can when they started canning their Dale’s Pale Ale in 2002.

Packaging is what the consumer interacts with most and offers various touchpoints from the bottle or can itself to the secondary packaging and even multiple points on the bottle from the base to the neck. The quality of the beer can best be expressed through the branding and design of the package.


What’s makes the craft beer segment wildly successful is really the people – the brewers, the visionaries, and the consumers and beer enthusiasts that buy it. Craft beer is a global movement with strong and passionate people, creative storytelling and quality-driven beer. As one brewery staffer I spoke with from Canada explained, there is a will for the entire industry to succeed so everyone loves to share ideas, collaborate on beers and offer advice. They all could be considered competitors, but it isn’t that way. Everyone supports each other. After all, a rising tide lifts all boats.