Some decry the trolls and quick to anger nature of beer Twitter but Instagram is bothering me more of late.
How are glamour shots of beer a bother? Well, those are fine. It is the near constant onslaught of yoga, comedy, DJ’s, painting, Dodger games and trivia posts that turn me off from visiting a brewery. You can accuse me of being cranky or picky but I go to a taproom to have a beer and if beer is not front and center, it makes me wonder.
Wonder, first and foremost, why the beer isn’t drawing people in. Wonder, how much time is being spent on booking the trivia dude or setting aside space for goats to do yoga. Wonder how much time is spent creating and posting jpegs for events that don’t mention the beer at all.
I understand that the market is much, much more competitive. But adding comedians to a night when five other breweries have a comedy night isn’t go to set you apart. In fact, it will only entrench you within the group.
All you are doing with these handy from a box nights is grabbing a small bit of a niche and not truly diversifying. Entice millennials and seniors, vets and (insert group here) to mingle together. I might find that the yoga person is cool, that the DJ has similar beer tastes. But I won’t learn that because those activities aren’t my jam and no one is setting aside a night for Doctor Who talk or the Stephen King Easter eggs in the new Castle Rock show.
Here’s a thought. Promote the Dodgers or Galaxy or LAFC but do so with a special beer that ties into those sports (Chavez Ravine Lager) or donate a portion of a beer to charity. Give away tickets to L.A. landmarks (Hollywood Bowl for one)along with to-go beer to enjoy. Think that extra creative step.
Peel the Label is an infrequent series with no photos or links. Just opinion.