Breweries with major brand evolution

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by JuliusPepperwood, Jul 26, 2021.

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  1. JuliusPepperwood

    JuliusPepperwood Initiate (0) Jul 21, 2013 North Carolina

    I was thinking about some breweries that hit the market with some rather unremarkable beers but overtime have completely revamped their brand/style. One that comes to mind is Ghost Train Brewing in Birmingham. They opened with 2 flagship beers in bottles, a brown ale and a golden ale. Even for 2016, not exactly the most enticing styles not to mention their marketing design was rather dated.

    [​IMG]

    Fast forward 5 years and their brand is unrecognizable. They have leaned into new trends like sours and hazy IPAs. They moved to cans and use more trendy style label art.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]


    It's clearly been a smart move for Ghost Train since their beer has improved and they appear to be having a lot of success. They still maintain a handful of easy drinking styles that hark back to their original lineup but overall they are much more adventurous and experimental.

    Another brewery that comes to mind is Monday Night out of Atlanta. They opened with the motto "Weekends are overrated. That's what we believe, anyway. We brew balanced, flavorful beers for weeknight consumption."

    Their original lineup included several approachable and medium ABV offerings like a pilsner, pale ale, and a Belgian Wit. Now they've embraced hazy IPA's, sours, barrel aged stouts, and lots of big ABV flavorful beers. And they're clearly benefiting from the brand evolution.
     
    #1 JuliusPepperwood, Jul 26, 2021
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  2. MNAle

    MNAle Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2011 Minnesota

    Is there a distinction between brand evolution and trend chasing?
     
    #2 MNAle, Jul 26, 2021
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  3. jonphisher

    jonphisher Grand Pooh-Bah (3,850) Aug 9, 2015 New Jersey
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    I feel like you could say this about too many breweries. Am I happy about it no, but can I blame them for brewing what the people want and what makes them money, no again.

    Brand evolution is just a reflection of current consumers and the trends they want as @MNAle said above me.
     
    #3 jonphisher, Jul 26, 2021
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  4. sharpski

    sharpski Grand Pooh-Bah (3,100) Oct 11, 2010 Oregon
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    Monkish, Brouwerij West, and other breweries who started out with Belgian-focused taplists and found broader success switching to styles higher up the IRI rankings.
     
    #4 sharpski, Jul 26, 2021
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  5. Jaycase

    Jaycase Grand Pooh-Bah (3,858) Jan 13, 2007 Illinois
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    The branding team must have called in sick this day.

    [​IMG]
     
    #5 Jaycase, Jul 26, 2021
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  6. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,174) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
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    Or will leave "sick" the day the subpoena arrives. :grimacing:
     
    #6 steveh, Jul 26, 2021
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  7. zid

    zid Grand Pooh-Bah (3,132) Feb 15, 2010 New York
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    The legal team as well.
     
    #7 zid, Jul 26, 2021
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  8. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,145) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
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    Yeah, that is a shame.

    They better hope that Dole's trademark attorneys did the same.
     
    #8 jesskidden, Jul 26, 2021
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  9. jonphisher

    jonphisher Grand Pooh-Bah (3,850) Aug 9, 2015 New Jersey
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    Remember they even had a “no ipa” sign, IPA with a big red circle and line through it. I guess they didn’t stick to their guns on that one.
     
    #9 jonphisher, Jul 26, 2021
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  10. Providence

    Providence Pooh-Bah (2,652) Feb 24, 2010 Rhode Island
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    If it's just new marketing, label designs, etc. but the same crappy beer inside then sure, there's a lot of that (Shipyard Brewing, for example). But it is rare, in my experience, that a brewery starts out of the gate with so-so beer and then evolves to making good beer. I'm sure that was more common in the early days of craft, perhaps even the norm, but I bet it's hard to pull off nowadays.
     
    #10 Providence, Jul 26, 2021
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  11. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
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    Founders will readily admit running away from the bill collectors back in the 90s before they changed from brewing standard beer styles to a "We brew beers that we want to drink" marketing theme.
     
    #11 PapaGoose03, Jul 26, 2021
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  12. MistaRyte

    MistaRyte Pooh-Bah (2,681) Jan 14, 2008 Virginia
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    Locally, Young Veterans in VA Beach. Used to be an all-military theme (Pineapple Grenade, Night Vision, Semper FIPA), now it seems like anything goes (Do a Kickflip, Krang, Hazies in a Halfshell)
     
    #12 MistaRyte, Jul 26, 2021
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  13. unlikelyspiderperson

    unlikelyspiderperson Grand Pooh-Bah (3,966) Mar 12, 2013 California
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    Seems like a pretty common brags trajectory these days. In the realm of complete branding overhaul, I just noticed today that Alpine beer company is packaging everything in 16 oz cans with goofy cartoons on the label. That's a huge change from a brand that was built on very old style landscape window type labels a la traditional Sierra Nevada stuff
     
    #13 unlikelyspiderperson, Jul 28, 2021
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