I'm so embarrassed that the US has spawned this aberration

The problem with this thread (and your comment) is you ignore the reality (which many deem unfortunate). Great marketing drives the vast majority of beer sales, not the liquid in the glass. Of course there are beers here and there which are simply amazing liquid, the word gets around and people end up lined up on a country road in Frog's Balls, Vermont to get two bottles. But these beers are the exception and far from the majority.

This extends to naming/labeing of beers, what are you going to pull off the shelf first to take a second look at? A beer with a label like 3 floyds which is absolute crazy art or a name like GINORMUASS ASS BLOWER STOUT, or a relatively boring label (and name) like Sierra Nevada Porter? I know that most people would walk by the 3 Floyds/made up beer above and at least pick it up to take another look (or post a picture on social media for commentary!), while Sierra Nevada might get passed over because it doesn't catch anybody's eye.

I would challenge anybody to look at their own markets to see this in action, often times, the brewery with the best beer may not have the best marketing (because the management are beer people, not business/sales/marketing people) and the best marketing may be from people who produce mediocre crap.

There's a local brewery in the Cincinnati area whose beer is mediocre at best, generally overpriced and as inspiring as the letter B volume of an encyclopedia. That being said, they do extremely well with their marketing and have an extremely nice tap room. This brings people in for events and they have quickly built an extremely good reputation in the community. Oh and their best beer is probably a C+/B-.

So, I guess if you want to see less of this stuff, try and figure out a way to change human nature, things that catch our eye and are interesting (or gimmicky) will always sell better than a brown bottle with "BEER - IPA" written on the side in silver sharpie.

Edit: better example, what would sell better "Stone Arrogant Bastard ale" or "Stone American Strong Ale"....

 

But is it any good?

 

Don't be such a prude. It's easier to just move on.

 

Relax and enjoy the party because I recall what you Europeans did during the alcopop craze. Same dang thing.

 

Bill, FWIW I enjoyed your generous use of emoticons.

Cheers!

 

I can speak for most of the locals familiar with Brew Rebellion, they make shit beer.

 

And don't forget Radlers.

Cheers!

 

ISO: Ginormuass Ass Blower Stout

On second thought, maybe not...

 

I hope that I can love this and hate this at the same time, because that's what I'm a-gonna do.

 

Of course, the underlying truth here is that attention getting is a key part of any commercial pursuit.

In an industry with 4,000+ breweries, the most successful ones over the long haul--especially new ones without the brand recognition of brands like Sierra Nevada--are going to be the ones with unique, eye-catching labeling/marketing/packaging AND kick-ass beers inside the packaging.

You have to get consumers attention before they can ever decide if they like your beer.

 

And that's probably why they felt the need for the gimmick. People will notice that on the shelf and a portion of those people will buy it that may not have otherwise paid it any attention. Next they should promote a beer made with yeast propagated via a single hair from Scarlett Johansson's vagina. I'll let you guys ponder the packaging for that, lol...

 

Had 4oz or so yesterday and wasn't offended by the label in the least. The beer isn't world class, but it's solid.

 

Paging rogue brewing Co...

 

This is a serious conversation we are trying to have here Junior.

 

???

What have sex and nudity got to do with any of this? Missing the connection here.

 

Collaboration: Rogue + Against The Grain

With a dry, crusty--er, roasty finish.

 

Rather says more about potential customers than the maker.

 

I get what you're saying (the part I had the limited attention span to read carefully at least), and readily admit my reaction was simply knee jerk and old school no-gimmicks-needed-to-sell-a-good-product-with-normal-marketing-in-an-uncrowded-marketplace thinking. But I truly think you are describing a subset of the audience, not the whole thing.

Also, and maybe more importantly, there is probably a reason that I never saw fruit loops or cheerios stuck to the side of a beer bottle before. The fate of many products may be intimately tied to their marketing, but what other than an overcrowded market would likely lead to this?