Colorado is an undisputed hotbed for craft beer as home to 200-plus breweries, the annual party that is the Great American Beer Festival and influential figures in the industry.
But can Colorado lay claim to being the state of craft beer?
The Colorado Brewers Guild, a nonprofit advocate for roughly 175 independent craft breweries, has adopted the phrase “Colorado: The State of Craft Beer” as the centerpiece of a new consumer brand campaign meant to draw more attention to the state’s brewery scene at a time of industry expansion nationwide.
Steve Kurowski, marketing director for the state brewers guild, said the plan is to build a “brand platform” by plastering the campaign’s blue and white logo on brochures, signs in pubs and liquor stores, glassware and other merchandise, festivals, and eventually a website.
“We feel we are an epicenter of craft beer in the country,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to brand what our industry is doing here.”
Other states have seen similar marketing efforts. The Michigan Brewers Guild developed a logo around the slogan “The Great Beer State,” playing off the state’s nickname the Great Lake State.
Last year, Colorado ranked fourth nationally in the number of breweries and breweries per capita, according to the Boulder-based Brewers Association, a trade group for independent craft brewers.
Kurowski noted that Colorado also can claim to be home to the first U.S. microbrewery — Boulder Beer, founded in 1979 — and influential homebrewing author/evangelist Charlie Papazian.
“It’s not necessarily separating ourselves from other states. It’s about what we want to do in Colorado,” Kurowski said. “We definitely realize and understand there are great things going on in craft beer in other states. But it’s a fun tag line, and it means a lot.”
Veteran Colorado beer marketing man Marty Jones said the extra marketing muscle is vital as more out-of-state craft beers hit local shelves and many locals have yet to embrace Colorado beer.
“Yes, it’s a bit strong and rah-rah,” Jones said of the slogan. “But if your task is to wave the flag for something, get a big flag and wave it like you mean it.”
Most people accept that marketing slogans are intended to create an image rather than be 100 percent verifiable, said Dan Rabin, a beer writer who covers the Rocky Mountain region for Celebrator Beer News. The “State of Craft Beer” is effective as an attention-grabber but doesn’t make any specific claims, he said.
“Whether it will be effective, I have no idea,” Rabin said. ” As a Denver brewery owner once told me, ‘Craft beer drinkers are promiscuous beer drinkers,’ meaning variety takes priority over brand loyalty for many beer enthusiasts.”
Justin Baccary, president and founder of 9-month-old Station 26 Brewing in Denver, sees value in educating tourists and boosting Colorado breweries that distribute out of state.
But Baccary also raised the issue of growing industry concerns about the quality of some breweries’ beer not being up to par.
“Colorado’s a great craft beer state,” Baccary said. “A lot are good. Some are not very good. How do you highlight the best of Colorado beer? There is not-good Colorado beer, just as there’s not-good California beer, or the same in any state.”
Eric Gorski: 303-954-1971, egorski@denverpost.com or twitter.com/egorski
