What's Working? Part 1

Last month, I reached out to Beer Crunchers’ premium supporters and asked for volunteers to share one thing that’s working well right now. I jokingly compared it to a pyramid scheme, but for success stories. Turn your 1 into 8, turn those 8 into 64, and I’d facilitate 😎. Examples could include a portfolio move, taproom experience, marketing strategy, means of improving employee engagement, organizational tactic, etc. There’s a lot of negativity and doubt swirling the industry right now, yet every day I get to hear from so many peers who are full of optimism. The offer was completely open ended and as a result, the responses covered a wide range of topics from a wide range of sources.

Today I’ll begin by sharing the first 5, my own reaction to each, and a whole lot more to come. The topics covered include:

1. A major regional brewery solving their IPA gap

2. A Chicagoland craft bottle shop and beer bar empowering and celebrating their staff all-in-one

3. A Texas brewery balancing beer-flavored beer with headline grabbing releases

4. A Chicago design studio’s collaborative approach to “concept mapping”

5. An Oregon brewery’s offensive against an otherwise slow February.

Chris Brown, Co-CEO of Great Lakes Brewing Company (Cleveland, OH)

In March of 2024 we introduced Midwest IPA to fill an important gap in our portfolio: a strong year-round IPA to appeal to the modern IPA drinker. We needed an everyday IPA to win. Midwest IPA did just that in a few short months. Between the balanced, delicious flavor, the bright retro-modern packaging, our team’s hyper-focus in the market, paid media, and creative muscle, Midwest IPA has grown to be the #1 IPA in the 6-Pack category for Cleveland, and top 3 in Ohio. It is also a top 3 overall brand, “total brand in package and draft”, for our entire footprint.

To build on Midwest IPA’s massive success in just under a year, this February we introduce Midwest Hazy IPA 6-Packs. Ahead of its wider market release, the 6.5% Midwest Hazy has enjoyed a soft launch in our Hop Madness Variety Pack and at key on-premise venues including our Great Lakes Experience Bar at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Midwest IPA continues to be a win we are extremely proud of, and we aim to put even more energy towards this brand family in 2025.

Doug Response: I heard a great prediction a couple weeks ago from Mike Schallau (Is Was Brewing) that we’d see more regional IPAs in 2025. Not as in regional breweries making IPAs and not a new sub-style of IPA, but as a concept of designing a recipe with ingredients and story-telling that highlights their home region. It’s a great prediction in so many ways, and Midwest IPA feels like a way for Great Lakes’ to embrace their heavy Midwest footprint. How was this brand name still available? Simple, yet genius. And really fun looking packaging.