Wynkoop Brewing’s Black & Can, Black Lager, is a clever and very useable name. While they didn’t ask me, here are 2 reasons why we give it a thumbs up:

• It’s a play on words (Black & Tan) that should make those familiar with beer smile. All takers, women and men.
• The graphics look very German with no inappropriate sexuality – it’s focused on the quality beer in the can and straight forward design.

Wynkoop Brewing Company, Denver CO

Canned beer is a great choice and a better one (over glass) all the time per sustainability. It’s encouraging to hear about more and more breweries canning their beer.

The days of tin-y tasting beer is more than over. If you have a hesitancy about present day canned beer, it’s all in your head – challenge yourself to try all the ‘newer’ canned beers you can wrap your fingers around.

This also means we can teach everyone that using cans for beer portability and enjoyment makes Mother Nature happy.

And when Mother’s happy, we can all be happy. Pass me a Black & Can, please….

Thanks to our friends at Merchant Du Vin for the following information. Most of it was new to me.

Regarding ABV on our labels: As you probably know, it was not legal to put alcohol content on US beer labels until 1995.  Apparently, the BATF (the agency that approved labels at that time) didn’t want brewers “marketing by strength.”  We work with our breweries to produce US labels.  Many European labels don’t show ABV, but over the years since ’95  we have added ABV to more US labels.   

We sell most of our beers in all 50 states, and there’s a vast number of state beer labeling laws that sometimes actually contradict each other – some states require ABV over a certain threshold to be listed on labels; others prohibit it.  I think each of our beers at 5.7% ABV or higher currently does list ABV on the label.  (One of my favorite wacky state beer laws: in Texas, a beer under 5.0% ABV must be labeled “beer”; one over that must be labeled “ale” or “malt beverage” – even if it’s a lager, it can’t have the word ”lager” or  “beer” on the label.)

Our breweries tend to order labels in pretty big batches, to keep the costs down . . . and there are always pending issues that affect reprinting, as well: current potential changes include nutrition panels, allergen listing, and states that add or drop bottle deposits.

It’s an interesting & complex topic – I have a colleague here that spends many hours a month on federal and state beer registration, compliance, and label approvals.

We do list ABVs (as well as IBU & OG) on each specific web page for all our beers – hopefully that helps.  We’ve also recently added a super-cool retail beer finder for consumers – you can just put in your zip code, and find any of our beers close to you:

http://www.merchantduvin.com/find-our-beer.php

Okay – my apologies. I’d posted this – I thought – and yet the ghost in the machine somehow got a hold of it…

Marty letting 'er rip!

SO – with no further adieu, here’s the ‘Nod’, as it were. Many thanks to the talented, fun and sharp Marty Jones for the intro song per a workshop at Wynkoop Brewing Company on marketing beer to women.

I am woman hear me road in numbers too big to ignore / When I’m shopping for fine beer in your store / But your marketing and ads are aimed at dudes and dads / Ignoring customers without gonads

Oh yes I’m a wife and I’ve drank beer all my life / Yes I’ll pay the price if you offer beer that’s nice  / If I want to, I can buy anything / I’m employed, I have a Mastercard / I am woman!

I am woman see me drink In numbers larger than you think / And I know too much to go back an’ pretend / Please don’t suggest Cabernet when the one drink I crave / Is a Rail Yard Ale and glass of B3K

Oh yes, I have breasts but I don’t want the wine list / Two X chromosomes and I buy the beer for home / So please tell me about your beer stash / I want hops I want some flavor / I have taste and an MBA / I have expendable income I am WOOOOOOOO MAN!!!!

Goschie Farms

An open letter of thanks to Ann George and the Hop Community that was present at the American Hop Convention last week. It was my honor to get to give the banquet talk. Mixed crowd of farmers, brokers, brewers and more engaged folks, all for the pursuit of hops.

I’ll be posting the talk soon, which will be accessible to anyone who wants to download it.

Cheers to the growers, producers, breeders, researchers, and brewers who are ensuring high quality hops for our delicious beer.  Thank you.

If you’re a woman who has an opinion or two about beer, then we want to hear from you!

Women Enjoying Beer is creating a report that will be delivered to and available to various professional audiences all over to help them address women and their relationship with beer.

Background info requested: specific state and country where you live (city is fine if you want to share it too), estimated length of time you’ve enjoyed consuming beer, number of people in your household, pastimes and affinity groups you’re part of. This info will be kept private, and never shared or given to any parties. Ever.

We’re looking for representation from all 50 United States, U.S. Territories and Associated States including: American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Midway Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands
We welcome and encourage all women around the globe to contribute. This is a viral invite: feel very free to forward it to women you know, wherever they may be. (thank you)

Please consider these queries carefully. While flippant answers are funny, what we’re asking for are thorough true responses to the posed ideas. You can write as little or as much as you wish – we’ll edit and compile regardless of what we get. Note: The more thorough the response, the more insight you provide the more powerful and useful insight WEB can bring to the professional beer community to properly address women as a powerful voice and market, promoting respect and progress.

Women Enjoying Beer is the only business that is focused on women and beer starting with the female consumer first. “Consumer” can mean the buyer and or the actual drinker. WEB collects qualitative psychographic information; suffice it to say – we’re looking for the reasons why you do and don’t do things; in this case it’s in relation to beer as a woman.  (If you’re a man please forward this to the valuable women in your life – thank you).

We’d ask that you please return your responses for this specific project by February 29^th (yes, it’s a leap year!). Of course we’ll accept them after that point as well yet we want to set the pace and there will be a lot of compilation to be done. You can reply via email (Ginger (at) WomenEnjoyingBeer (dot) com, cut and paste in the body of an email, or create a separate document.

Scale of ROS (Return On Survey). We want to thank you for making time in your day to respond. If you include an accurate mailing address, here’s what we’ll send you as a token of our thanks:

• Complete responses to 10 – 15 = 3” full color WEB sticker
• Complete responses to 16 – 25 = 5” full color WEB sticker
• Complete responses to 26 – 40 = 5” full color sticker and WEB (recycled) pencil
• Complete responses to all 50 = 3” & 5” full color WEB sticker and (recycled) pencil

Even if you’ve answered these before, opinions and habits, practices and thoughts evolve. Please consider contributing again. I realize it’s a lot to ask. Know we are extremely grateful for your contributions, however extensive or minimal they are. We understand you’re busy – we are too. We’re working to shift culture and you can help.

Settle in with a delicious beer and have fun with it. Our sincere thanks for all contributions. It’s truly an honor to amplify your voice.

With much gratitude,

Ginger Johnson, Founder, Women Enjoying Beer

1. Why do you drink beer?
2. Why do you like beer?
3. What kinds of beers do you like?
4. How often to you drink beer and what helps dictate that pattern (however varied)?
5. What would compel you to try a beer you haven’t tried before?
6. What dictates when you choose what beer?
7. What do you want from your beer? Conversely, what don’t you want from your beer?
8. What kind of beer education or social beer opportunities would you like to take advantage of?
9. How do you want the beer companies to address/acknowledge you as a female beer drinker?
10. What kind of atmosphere do you prefer when you drink beer?
11. What are some elements of atmosphere that turn you off, even to the point of not patronizing a place because of them?
12. What do you think about present beer marketing and advertising as it relates to you as a woman?
13. Does size matter for your beer?
14. If I use the word “craft: beer, what does that mean to you?
15. If you use the term “craft” how do you define non-craft beer?
16. Do you drink any combination of beer, wine and spirits (please specify if so)?
17. Do you find learning about beer to have any roadblock for you? If so – what are they?
18. What kinds of establishments do you patronize to drink beer and why do you choose them?
19. What kinds of establishments will you avoid when you want to drink beer and why?
20. What would you say is a rough percentage breakdown of drinking beer in your own home, drinking beer out, and drinking at friends’ (non public establishments)?
21. Does weather affect your beer habits and if so how?
22. Have you ever homebrewed?
23. If you’re a home brewer or live with one, will you take those beers with you to places and people? Tell us about why you do or don’t.
24. If you have homebrewed, tell us why you tried it or why you currently do it (however sporadic).
25. What other factors affect your buying and or consumption of beer?
26. Will you travel to try a beer and if so why; if no – why not?
27. How far will you travel to get a beer and what are the factors you consider in doing so?
28. What do you drink when you travel?
29. Have you ever expressly taken a trip with a focus on beer in any way? Tell us about it.
30. Where do you shop for your beer?
31. If you’re a cross drinker (drink beer, wine and spirits) what is the breakdown percentage wise of how often you choose each of the 3 drinks?
32. Are there any beers you won’t try or buy? Why?
33. Please tell us what you think or know what beer distributors do.
34. What kind of beer marketing do you notice and why?
35. Where do you notice beer marketing, in any formats (billboards, TV, magazines, online, posters, packaging, etc.)?
36.  Why do you notice the beer marketing you do?
37. Tell us if you think current beer marketing is inclusive of women and why (or why not).
38. What kind/s of marketing – in any category – gets your attention and why?
39. How do you want to be marketed to as a woman who enjoys beer?
40. What can a beer oriented company do to get your attention?
41. Do you use any social media platforms – if so which ones; if no why not?
42. When are you likely to buy a beer solely based on an advertising campaign or marketing effort?
43. What does a beer company, restaurant, bar or distributor have to do to get you to buy from them more than once?
44. Are you loyal to any brands (or any sort) and if so why? If not why not?
45. Do you want to know the story of the beer business and why or why not?
46. How does knowing anything about the beer company influence your purchasing of their products?
47. Do you want to know about beer company’s fiscal, social, and environmental practices – why or why not?
48. Are you the primary caregiver of your household? Do you buy the majority of all products for the household?
49. Does a care giving role influence your relationship and consumption of beer? If so how so, if not, please explain.
50. What about your lifestyle and family (however large or compact) affects or influences your beer consumption?

Additional comments and ideas welcome.

“Every point will lead you somewhere.”

“Start one way and it can take you somewhere else.”

- Jason Oliver, Devil’s Backbone Brewing, GABF 2011 Media Luncheon

[Nebraska Brewing is an] “experiment gone well.” – Kim Kavulak, Nebraska Brewing Company, GABF 2011 Media Luncheon

“A recession …doesn’t mean you can’t build a business. It doesn’t mean you can’t make a great beer.” – Governor John Hickenlooper, 2011 GABF Media Luncheon

Are you stagnating in your idea swirl? Do you want a boost of creativity in getting women excited about your beer? Here are a few to get the juices flowing today – use them as you wish.

1. Surprise her with a birthday party. Every time you hear of a patron with a pending birthday, be at the ready to help celebrate her. Have some hats on hand and a small birthday gift to give out.
2. Even if it’s not her birthday, throw her an unbirthday party – the White Rabbit was onto something.
3. Keep some kazoos or a drum or whatever kind of basic instruments available to play to rev things up. Sing a few silly songs that everyone knows – be they camp songs, beer songs or simple ditties we all know. Crowd singing gets everyone smiling.
4. Randomly give female patrons a free beer.
5. Randomly give out a free goodie she will like and use (FYI – if you have shirts to give, make SURE you carry them in women’s fit & sizes – they’re not men and you don’t give men women’s shirts)
6. Surprise her with a gratis plate of snacks to complement the beer she’s enjoying.
7. Take her picture and post it (with her permission of course) on your site as the chosen Patron of the Day; great blog/twitter/facebook fodder. People like to see themselves in publications.
8. Give her the best seat in the house with a sign saying as much.

Fun, economical and slightly goofy customer recognition moves like these engender fun, encourage repeat business from her, and will give everyone something to talk about. And that means they’ll be talking about your brand.

What associations and organizations are you supporting? What groups claim you as a member?

One of the organizations that we are members of is the Brewers Association. One thing I like about them is that they provide plentiful and easily accessible information. Yesterday I got a mailer with updated ‘good stuff’ so I want to share some of it today.

Not a member yet? It’s worth while if you are a consumer who enjoys beer, a business in the beer community, a brewery, or a distributor. As with any membership, you get out of it what you put into it too.

• US Beer Market = $101 Billion
• 203,576,450 Barrels of Beer
• 1753 breweries in operation for some or all 2012, the highest number since the late 1800′s
• Well over 100,000 jobs surround the beer community in the USA (including the fabulous service staff of pubs)

Other Beer Related Resources We Recommend:

• American Homebrewers Association
• Civilization of Beer
• Beer Goddess
• CraftBeer.com