Firstly, Merry Christmas to everyone!

Secondly, my love of marketing means that I couldn’t help but comment on a micro-brewery I discovered when I stocked up on alcohol for Christmas (in moderation, obviously!).

I’m still coming to terms with getting older – and discovering a taste for ‘real beer’ rather than massmarket lager, so I always like to try a couple of new beers on ever shopping trip.

Which is how I spotted Punk IPA from Brewdog.

Punk IPA from Brewdog - interesting beer brand and microbrewery

It’s definitely an example of a business, brand and product with the marketing built in!

From their site:

‘Beer was never meant to be bland, tasteless and apathetic.
At BrewDog we are setting the record straight.
We are committed to making the highest quality beers with the finest fresh natural ingredients.
Our beers are in no way commercial or mainstream.
We do not merely aspire to the proclaimed heady heights of conformity through neutrality and blandness.
We are unique and individual.’
A beacon of non-conformity in a increasingly monotone corporate desert.
We are proud to be an intrepid David in a desperate ocean of insipid Goliaths.
We are proud to be an alternative.’

Interestingly, they’ve just been successful in a battle with the industry-backed Portman Group over the language on some of the labels on their beer – for instance describing Punk IPA as an aggresive beer, which the group original claimed would ‘encourage anti-social behaviour’.

You can read more about the battle in a great post on the Brewdog blog. Meanwhile, I’m hopeful about trying some of their other produce, particularly the Hop Rocker, The Physics, and the Hardcore IPA!