How Craft Beer Can Attract New Audiences: A Focus on Clear, Inclusive Communication
Because we can't just talk to beer nerds
Most of my thoughts about craft beer these days revolve around the question, “How did we get here?” How is an industry I love so much struggling right now? I’ve probably touched on this in a few newsletters, but I often reference Bart Watson’s State of the Industry address at the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in 2023. In that talk, he mentioned two growing segments of drinkers in other markets—women and people of color—both of which are largely underrepresented at most taprooms.
Since CBC 2023, I have wondered what we can do as an industry to start attracting more women and people of color to craft beer. That question runs through my mind all the time. If I knew the answer, I could print money. As I’m not flush with cash at the moment, you can assume I don’t have the answer to that question. But I do have perhaps a piece of the puzzle.
Back in college, my love of words led me to pursue a degree in technical writing. Technical writing focuses on breaking down complex topics into simpler terms. It’s the writing we often overlook when done well but immediately notice it when it’s not, especially if it’s absent altogether, like in those infamous IKEA instructions. Technical writers create content for instructional manuals, reports, standard operating procedures (SOPs), case studies, and white papers. I’m sure you’ve come across this type of writing sometime in your lifetime.
Throughout my studies, one key idea was hammered into my head was to know your audience. It’s how I start everything I write whether it’s a conscious thought or not because it’s the best way to clearly relay your message and make sure you are getting your point across. To make sure you are considering what your audience needs and how best to meet them where they are. Because otherwise, what’s the point of writing if your audience doesn’t want to read it or can’t understand it?
So, now that you understand how I think about writing, let’s swing this back around to beer. A year ago, I came across a post about a new beer release and almost couldn’t believe how intense the caption was. First, it was so long that it continued into the captions with more information. As I scanned the words, I kept searching for something—anything—that would tell me how the beer tasted. I practically screamed at my phone, “But what the fuck does the beer taste like?!
I also started to ask: who is this caption for? Who is this beer for? I realized our industry has become so focused on speaking to beer nerds that we’ve forgotten how to communicate with casual drinkers.
This sentiment is echoed in Jessica Mason’s article for The Drinks Business, “Why female beer drinkers are in decline,” author and beer sommelier Annabel Smith said “It’s so hard to understand beer and the wealth of flavours it offers. There’s an assumption that brand owners don’t need to explain the colour, the flavour profile or the style because we should know that, right?”
I wondered how this post would come across to someone new to craft beer? Someone who was excited about exploring this wide world of beer after mistakenly thinking it was only about lifeless lagers. When you follow breweries around the country, you’re often met with loads of jargon. Double mashing, wort, boils, decoction mash, attenuation, and the list goes on and on.
Of course, some people might get excited about the challenge of learning these words, but for the most part, it can alienate readers. The Nielsen-Norman Group, a leader in creating user-friendly content and products, dives into this topic, encouraging creators and designers to ask two questions when deciding when to use jargon: Do my readers know this term or concept? and How important is it that I use this particular term?
(you can dive deeper into the decision tree here)
In most cases, especially on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, we don’t need to use jargon. And here’s why—I’m about to bring you into my content creator world, so hold on.
There are tons of apps, but only two types of content platforms—discovery and relationship. Discovery platforms, like any app with an algorithm, are built to connect creators with new audiences. All social media platforms fall into this bucket, but YouTube is included in this list because of its algorithm. Relationship platforms like email newsletters, private communities, and podcasts provide a more direct, reliable source of communication with your audience and help you develop a deeper connection with them.
Social media platforms are great ways to attract and connect with new customers. Yes, you can build relationships with audiences on these platforms, but as many of you know, you don’t have control over who will see your content. Which is why these platforms aren’t necessarily great for building relationships.
However, email newsletters are perfect for building relationships because you have a direct line to your audience. It’s like throwing flyers off a balcony, hoping someone picks one up versus handing an interested person more information about your event. The person who is interested will be more receptive to what you have to say. While the people walking by on the street MIGHT pick up one of the flyers, and if they do, what will they be met with? An engaging message or dense jargon?
So what do you do when you want to talk about your latest release that has a super complicated brewing process and the result of it was an incredibly delicious beer that you’re really excited to share with your audience?
The best place for you to wax poetic about your latest super complicated beer is in your newsletter. The people who were kind enough to give you their email want to hear more, know more. They have signaled to you that they’re open to hearing about and going deeper into the process with you. While people on social media haven’t necessarily opted into your technical diatribe, especially if they aren’t following you. You also won’t need to rely on the comment section to explain your beer release further.
We talk a lot about how to make craft beer more welcoming to outsiders, and this is one way I believe we can do it.
Let’s dive more into why this is important. 51.2% of people research brands online before making a purchase. Say someone is interested in visiting the new brewery that opened up in their neighborhood. This person is new to craft beer, but is interested in learning more. They hop on Instagram to see what the brewery is all about and they hit in the face with a long caption talking about their latest release and even though the words are in English, they have NO idea what’s being said. What impression do you think that person would walk away with?
We need to change the way we talk about beer, especially in spaces where we can showcase this wonderful (and complicated) community to the world.
But if you must share your triple-decocted beer with the world, do me a favor—include the definition and please tell us what the hell it tastes like.
What’s Good
David Bailey's Just Beer Things #12 — The Unintelligibility of Craft Beer captures some of my frustrations around how we talk about beer.
Beer category loses female drinkers as gender inequality prevails is a great lead into Why female beer drinkers are in decline, the article I linked above. I highly recommend reading both.
Lately, I’ve been dropping the word “craft” when referring to beer and Jeff Alworth captured a lot of my feelings around the term in his latest: The “Craft Beer” Thing Was a Blind Alley.
Thank you for reading!
Until next time,
Stephanie
About me: I'm Stephanie Grant, a born-and-bred ATLien and the writer behind this newsletter. I’m also a content creator for the food and beverage industry. In 2023, I launched The Share Community, a digital space for women and non-binary people of color who want to advance their career in the beer industry. You can also find more of my work on YouTube and Instagram.
This is great stuff! As someone who's still exploring the world of beer, I really appreciate it when experts keep things simple. At the end of the day, I just want to know how it tastes. I never quite understand why it's so tough for experts to answer this question—often, I leave with either something I don't enjoy or nothing at all. The worst thing you can do to a newbie is make them feel dumb or unwelcome; otherwise, I might just stick with my trusty Henny Margaritas! 😂