You’ve Been Lied To. Good Beer Isn’t Enough.

I feel it is my duty (because were mates now!) I need to warn you: you’ve been lied to.

For years, independent breweries have been told that good beer is enough—that quality alone will keep them afloat. But after a recent phenomenal chat with Grant McKenzie a beer marketing heavyweight who’s worked with Peroni, Asahi, Pilsner Urquell, and more, it’s clear that belief is absolute nonsense.

Why? Because There Is No Brand Loyalty.

We all like to think that if someone enjoys our beer, they’ll come back for more. But the harsh reality is: people forget you if you don’t stay visible.

Grant put it perfectly: “If nobody knows about your beer, or remembers it, it’s irrelevant.”

Loyalty doesn’t exist in the way breweries wish it did. Instead, it’s about mental and physical availability—being remembered and being easy to find.

Marketing Isn’t Optional—It’s Survival.

Brewdog? They built their empire on marketing (even while pretending they weren’t).

Amazon? Jeff Bezos once claimed advertising was a “tax for bad products.” Now, Amazon is one of the world’s biggest advertisers.

Tesla? Elon Musk swore he didn’t need ads. Now, Tesla advertises. Because marketing works.

And yet, so many indie breweries still resist it. They think if the beer is great, the drinkers will come.

But 4,000+ breweries in the UK prove otherwise. With so much choice, what makes yours the one people pick?

What Indie Breweries Get Wrong.

🚫 They focus too much on features, not benefits. Banging on about specific hops and brewing techniques is fine—but how does that beer make drinkers feel? What’s the experience?

🚫 They assume their story matters more than their visibility. Yes, your journey is great. But if you’re not getting seen in the right places, no one knows about it.

🚫 They believe marketing is just one-off campaigns. Marketing is everything—from your packaging to your website to how you show up on social media. It’s not an afterthought. It’s a lifeline.

So, What Now?

If you’re a brewery that genuinely wants to survive, you have to market smarter. It’s not about shouting louder—it’s about being where people already are and making it easy for them to choose you.

Because the brutal truth?

Most breweries that fail don’t fail because of bad beer.

They fail because they didn’t understand branding and marketing soon enough.

And I don’t want that to be you.

If you want help cutting through the noise, making your brand stick, and actually selling more beer—you know where to find me.