The five best marketed WV breweries in 2018

Selling beer in a crowded market is getting tougher and tougher. Brewery marketing activities are becoming critical to brewery growth. West Virginia breweries use a mix of bar promotions, sales rep activity, social media, special events, tap takeovers, branded merchandise, festival participation, sponsorships, and other techniques to help their brands stand out and get notice. Some do a better job than others.

This article is the 2nd in a series about the Best of 2018 from WV breweries.

Bart Watson, chief economist for the Brewers Association, quoted in the September 2018 issue of The New Brewer, said. “Obviously, the beer needs to be great, but smart brewers are now focusing on showing customers that what happens in their brewpubs and tasting rooms is just as much of a reason to spend some time there.” Today, small breweries must spend more time differentiating their breweries if they want to be successful long term.

Brilliant Stream asked a group of craft beer enthusiasts from around the state, “Which West Virginia brewery impressed you most with its marketing savvy during 2018?”  Here are the top five. 

1.  Weathered Ground Brewery
2.  Short Story Brewing
3.  Big Timber Brewing
4.  Greenbrier Valley Brewing
5.  Parkersburg Brewing

Weathered Ground never stops marketing

While all of the top five breweries are doing a lot of marketing, Weathered Ground received pretty overwhelming support as this year’s best marketed brewery. Weathered Ground seems to have done a little bit of everything in the marketing arena during the year. Here are some highlights.

They hosted multiple events at the brewery, including a special brewing education activity. They hosted a fund raiser for public radio. They hire and promote dozens of local music events at the taproom.

They promote each beer release well, and they have a lot of releases. They brewed several collaboration beers with other breweries and one WV retailer this year. They self-distributed their beer and got it out in scores of accounts in several markets.

Bobby, their outside sales guy, was always out and about doing tap takeovers and bar events. They attended most every beer festival in the state, even ones in areas they don’t regularly sell beer. Brewers Sam and Anthony attended festivals themselves, not just leaving it to Bobby and the volunteers. 

They have a beautiful website. Their taproom beer list is always available online. The brewery is constantly on social media, heavily utilizing Facebook and Instagram.

They are participating in the 48 Beer Project for artistic label design. They have perhaps the best selection of branded merchandise in the state. Weathered Ground received notice for being the only WV brewery to participate in Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s fire relief fundraising program. 

While other WV breweries did many of the same things, no one did it all as well as Weathered Ground in 2018. It’s great to see the competition that is developing among our marketing savvy breweries. It can only lead to a higher profile for all West Virginia beer.

Beyond the top five listed above, other breweries receiving recognition for their marketing efforts this year include Bridge Brew Works, Stumptown Ales, Bad Shepherd Beer Company, Brew Keepers, and Abolitionist Ale Works. If you think other breweries should have been mentioned, please tell us why in the comments below.

See Part 1 of this series: Best brewery expansions 2018