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Beer. Imagine a world without it? We’d rather not think about that. Fortunately for us, beer is a huge industry in Australia that produces $16 billion a year in economic activity. Better yet, 85% of all beer sold in Australia is made locally too. Just about every town has its own brewery that shows off the local flavour. Not just through its taste, but through their branding as well. Branding allows breweries to bring a whole new dimension to their product by illustrating the flavour, the history, and the experience through visual storytelling.

Here are nine of our favourite independent brewery brands:

Each of these brands show that breweries can have a bit of fun with their visual identity. Though these brands reflect just a drop in the ocean (or pint) of the huge number of breweries in Australia. As of August 2020, there are over 700 craft beer breweries made in this beer-loving land. That’s why it’s more important than ever for breweries to make sure that their visual identity is bang-on.

At Maker Street, we believe that when it’s hard to stand out, stand strong. Authenticity is attractive to customers, so it’s crucial for breweries to know who they are and how to illustrate that through their brand. Just looking at the logos above, they each reflect the local identity and sell the location just as much as the beer itself. In some ways, it’s a bottle-shaped postcard. In doing this, it creates an experience that the customer is buying along with the beverage (we call this brand experience) whether they’re in that particular location or not. For example, we might drink a nice cold Corona at a backyard barbie, but it still makes us feel like we’re at the beach (we call this brand image).

Breaking into the category is a difficult task for any new brewery. After the first purchase, the customer decides whether it was the right choice or not. That’s why brand is important. It’s crucial to make sure the brand identity accurately aligns with the drink itself, otherwise it can damage the experience. But don’t forget, great branding can never fix a shit product, it’s vital to the brand to actually have a tasty beer.

If a customer is expecting a light and summery lager because that’s what the packaging illustrates, but they are met with a heavy stout, it sets the drink up for failure. If a brand is strategically crafted to align the beverage with the audiences expectations, it creates a better experience for the customer.

As consumers, we share stories over a beer, we create stories over a beer, and a beer should be able to tell a story of its own. A drink can encapsulate the local flavour and teleport a customer to the origin of the brewery.

If you’re looking to dress up your drink, drop us a line. Let’s get your brew pitcher perfect.