Over the last week, several well-known breweries have been embroiled in marketing feuds, prompting finger-pointing and very public accusations of petty tactics.
On Tuesday, Oregon brewpub Flat Tail Brewing took issue with 10 Barrel Brewing Company’s use of the slogan “Dam Good Beer.”
In a series of Instagram posts, Flat Tail accused 10 Barrel, which is owned by brewing powerhouse Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), of not only stealing its tagline, but of rubbing it in by driving a semi-truck painted with the slogan outside its brewpub.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4yELtPlnnc/
In response, 10 Barrel commented on the Instagram post, claiming it had “no idea” Flat Tail used the tagline and suggesting a winner-takes-slogan boat race.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B40TTg_FvbV/
As things stand, reconciliation looks unlikely.
Meanwhile, over in the Lone Star state, another marketing feud began after Karbach Brewing Company, also owned by AB InBev, decided to promote its new beer, Crawford Bock, in Shiner, Texas. If the town’s name sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the home of Shiner Bock, the hugely popular flagship beer of Spoetzl Brewery.
With signs that read “There’s a new Bock in town,” and billboards promoting Crawford Bock scattered throughout the small town, Spoetzl Brewery took it as a direct attack and an attempt to encroach on its market.
In an open letter to The Shiner Gazette, Spoetzl Brewery wrote:
“We have heard some chatter about uncommon sights around town last month—three billboards and a concert sponsorship touting: ‘There’s a new Bock in Shiner.’ That’s not Shiner Bock my friends. They are talking about Karbach Brewing Co., which is owned and operated by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, the largest brewer in the United States and in the world. It is not the Shiner Bock that’s brewed here in Shiner at the K. Spoetzl Brewery. This brewery has been providing jobs and giving back to our community since 1909—that’s 110 years. It is not the 110% independent and family-owned Shiner Bock.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4h-_3zj0SE/
According to the Houston Chronicle, Karbach said the advertisements were created by Del Papa Distributing to promote the Shiner Music Festival and not by Karbach itself. But as Gregor Mina, the head of marketing at Spoetzl Brewing told the Chronicle, “It’s one thing to sponsor the festival; it’s another thing to do a marketing blitz, especially in Shiner.”
With so much great beer to go around, can’t we all just get along?
