Keep your battles offline.

Do not use social media to wage a war against another brewery. I don’t care how pissed off you are at them. I don’t care how many laws you think they broke. I don’t care if they flat out stole your branding, your beer name, or your recipe—DO NOT post about it online.

And why not? Besides getting an ego boost from your adoring fans, nothing good can come from public wars between companies. You are guaranteed to lose existing fans as well as lose any potential fans who are first exposed to your brand in this fashion. And at the end of the day, it’s not fair for you to put your fans and followers in this position. You do not have the right to ask your fans to fight your battles. Hire a lawyer. It’s their freaking job to fight your battles—NOT mine.

Keep the fight between your lawyers—NOT your fans.

The Law of Attraction states that like attracts like. Whatever vibrations we radiate attract more of the same. Negative energy only attracts more negative energy. The more negative energy you put on social media, the more you will get. And trust me, you do not want your brand to be viewed as one that emits and attracts negative energy.

Not to mention, breweries putting out negative energy only makes the craft beer industry look bad as a whole. You might think that the battle is solely between you and the other guy, but it’s not. You just brought the entire craft beer community into the lime light. Your actions reflect negatively upon our entire industry—not just your two brands. You make craft beer look immature and childish. You make it look like we can’t get along with each other. You are destroying the collaborative, harmonious and united image that we have worked so hard to project.

Social media is an extremely powerful tool. And with great power, comes great responsibility. And trust me, I’ve learned this the very, very hard way. Breweries and beer fans, please heed my advice:

Don’t use social media as a weapon.

If you need justice, then by all means go and get it. But do it in a courtroom, NOT on Facebook and Twitter. Besides, I’m pretty sure that the judge making the final ruling over the case won’t be swayed by internet petitions or “how many followers and fans” you got to post on your behalf.

I did NOT ask to be put in the middle of this battle. None of us did. Sure, I might have opinions on what is right and wrong in this situation, but I reserve the right to stay out of the fight. Don’t make me chose sides. And don’t make me fight your battles.

Because I refuse to get involved, I’m intentionally leaving the details of this particular “War of the Roses” out of this post. If you wish to learn more about the brewery vs. brewery conflict I’m referring to, you can read the House of Lancaster arguments here and the House of York arguments here.

And you can guarantee that a case study will be made of this incident, highlighting it as the quintessential example of what not to do on social media, at the 2014 Craft Brewers Conference.

Quite possibly the biggest challenge in starting a brewery, outside of raising capital, is finding a location for the brewery. One can develop recipes and marketing materials all day, but without a licensed production facility, brewery operations cannot happen. Alas, a brewery-less brewer makes for very salty, tear-stained beers.

But, the founder of Modern Times Beer is far from crying in his beer. Just this morning, Jacob made the exciting announcement that he has found his dream location and a lease has been signed. Woot!

The story behind Modern Times Beer’s new building location is just as interesting as its choice in name — a story I hope to tell via interview with Jacob in the near future. Modern Times Beer takes its name from a 19th Century utopian community on Long Island, NY — which is why its location is so serendipitous.

“The building, quite by chance, is located in an appropo location: Point Loma. You see, way back in the late 19th Century, Point Loma was more or less unihabited, until a group of eccentric communitarians moved in and established Lomaland, a “Theosophical” utopian community that is now Point Loma Nazarene University,” notes Jacob McKean, Modern Times Beer CEO & founder.

The build is 12,540 sq. feet with tall celings, 24 ft at the sides and 29 feet at the middle, and easy to access big roll up doors — everything a sure-to-be-successful brewery could ever want. And if that wasn’t sweet enough, the building is centrally located in the heart of San Diego, an easy exit of the 8 and bikeable from Ocean Beach.

Sadly, for all of us desperate to get our grimy little paws on his delicious ales, we still must wait for silly things like construction to occur. “It will be awhile before you can grab a beer at the Lomaland Fermentorium; probably 6-8 months, at least. But, we hope to begin construction as soon as possible and eventually host a fantastic tasting room,” says Jacob. Oh woe is me.

But, I shall patiently await the day when the extra special grand opening invitation crosses my desk Hint, hint! Until then, I encourage you stalk Modern Times Beer online! Check out the blog, follow @ModernTimesBeer on Twitter, and become a fan on Facebook.

Michael Bepko, the Global Online Community Manager for Whole Foods Market, has been nominated for 4th Annual Shorty Industry Award in the category of Best Social Media Manager.

According to the Shorty Awards website, “Whole Foods Market is often looked to as a brand “who gets it” when it comes to social media. Revered for its thriving social communities and innovative use of social media strategies, Whole Foods isn’t afraid to try new things in the ever-evolving social media landscape to see what best resonates with their community and drives engagement from their customers. While the organization has gained notable social media success, what might be lesser known is the man behind the scenes who is at the helm of the company’s online network – Michael Bepko. Better known in social spheres as @Bepkoboy, Michael is the global online community manger for Whole Foods and is the person who lives behind the logo that resides among a social community of over 3.5 million friends, followers and fans.”

But, forget about what Michael has done for Whole Foods. Let’s focus on what he has done for craft beer. The equivalent of many celebrities, Whole Foods boasts over 2.2 million followers on its corporate Twitter account, and hundreds of thousands of followers from individual store accounts. In a day and time when no craft breweries have exceeded 100k followers on Twitter and only 3 have gone over the 50k point, Michael has graciously given craft beer a powerful voice in the form of “virtual beer tastings”.

Every two months, Michael works with me to scheme up a theme for a virtual tasting, featuring four different craft breweries. For days and even weeks up until the event, you can find Michael (under the moniker of @WholeFoods) promoting the virtual tasting, giving shout-outs to the breweries involved. Michael also communicates internally with all the WFM Marketing Managers, further amplifying the message at a regional and store level. During each live tasting, Michael and many of his Whole Foods colleagues devote an entire hour to talking about beer on Twitter, with both beer geeks and beer newbies alike. The result is one big craft beer love fest.

Personally, I was influenced by Michael even before partnering with him on virtual beer tastings. I was shocked the first time Michael tweeted a response back to me. After all, it’s not everyday that someone with over 2 million followers talks to me on Twitter. I was immediately impressed with Whole Foods’ level on engagement on Twitter, and Michael has only continued to impress me ever since.

So friends, I am asking you to give Michael a little bit of love for all the love he has given to craft beer. Head on over to this link, and give him some love in the form of “likes” and retweets! XOXO!!

Essentially, this was a people’s choice awards. Participation was purely voluntary.

The nomination round kicked things off. I asked my fellow social media users to nominate 10 breweries they thought deserved to make the cut. I took all of the nominations and created a list of the top 20. I then asked people to score each of the 20 breweries on 3 different measures that I personally think are key to successful use of social media: proficiency, content and engagement. The total scores for each measure were combined to create the list of the Top Ten Social Media Breweries. Awards have also been given to the top 5 breweries for each measure.

Note: Breweries that promoted the survey to their fans and followers were significantly more likely to receive votes and nominations. This in itself is excellent evidence of a brewery’s use of social media. After all, the most proficient users of social media can successfully get its followers to perform on its call to actions.

Note on the note: Although brewery promotion did have a noticeable effect, not all the winners promoted the survey and most of the breweries that did promote would have won regardless. So without any further ado… Drum roll please…

And the winners are….

1. Surly Brewing Company

2. Summit Brewing Company

3. Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales

4. Founders Brewing Company

5. New Belgium Brewing Company

6. Stone Brewing Company

7. Abbey St. Martin

8. Rogue Ales

9. Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company

10. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

PROFICIENCY: mastery, expertise, knowledge, skill of social media

1. Surly

2. Summit

3. Dogfish Head

4. New Belgium

5. Abbey St. Martin

CONTENT: relevant, compelling, genuine content creation on social media platforms

1. Surly

2. Summit

3. Dogfish Head

4. Founder’s Brewing Company

5. New Belgium Brewing Company

ENGAGEMENT: involvement and interaction with followers & fan on social media platforms

1. Surly

2. Summit

3. Dogfish Head

4. Stone Brewing Company

5. Founder’s Brewing Company

FINAL COMMENTS

I feel the need to reveal that, throughout the entire process, Surly Brewing has completely dominated as the number one social media brewery. They were to only brewery to receive over 100 nominations — 60 more than the 2nd place nominee. In the voting round, Surly received 33% more votes than the second place brewery. To my knowledge, Surly did not retweet/repost or promote the competition on its network.

The top 5 breweries were virtually indisputable. The 6-10 winners were very close and within a few votes of each other. In fact, they were so close that the results could have been shifted by even one person. The Top 10 breweries, though, were solid. The next place (11th) was separated by the group by at least 100 points.

I am rather pleased with the results. It would be one thing to conduct my own research and the create my own personal list of social media breweries based upon metrics that I created. Instead, I asked social media users to vote on the breweries they thought were most proficient, compelling and engaging. Next time, many adjustments will be made to the process. I am very open to suggestions, so please feel free to leave me comments or send an email to: routson@gmail.com!

CHEERS!

But before we get into the nitty gritty analysis and the next steps… there are a few things that I need to make clear.

First, I have a degree in psychology as well as a degree in criminology. As a result, I am experienced in qualitative and quantitative research and statistical analysis. In addition, I also have market research experience as a “Knowledge Planner” at an advertising agency. I have experience with the collection, organization, and interpretation of data.

Second, this survey was conducted on a volunteer basis. In simple terms, it is an opinion poll — aka  a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. The sampling population consisted of social media users within at least two degrees of separation from myself and my website. Most of the sampling population is associated with or interested in the craft beer sector of the beer industry. The nomination round was limited to one week.

Now, let’s look at the data.

Preferred Social Media Platforms of participants:

• 93% of participants use Facebook
• 67% of participants use Twitter
• 43% of participants use Linkedin
• 38% of participants have a blog
• 30% of participants use video platforms

Social Media usage of participants:

• 48% use social media 1-2 hours per day
• 19% use social media less than one hour per day
• 18% use social media 3-4 hours per day
• 15% use social media 4+ hours per day

62% of participants think it is important for breweries to acknowledge messages sent to them from fans and followers. They should retweet, repost, and respond accordingly.

Participant Social Media following of Breweries:

• 52% of participants follow under 10 breweries
• 33% of participants follow 10-50 breweries
• 8% of participants follow 50-100 breweries
• 4% of participants follow 100-200 breweries
• 3% of participants follow 200+ breweries

89% of participants prefer to follow breweries that engage with its fans and followers. They believe that social media is a two-way conversation.

The Result Breakdown:

• 320 ballots were submitted
• 1, 263 nominations were made
• 150 breweries received at least one nomination
• 84 of the breweries received more than one nomination
• Only 25 breweries received a nomination of 10 or more
• Only three breweries received 60+ nominations
• And only ONE brewery received over 100 nominations

The Honorable Mentions:

• Deschutes
• Avery
• Magic Hat
• Bell’s
• Great Lakes Brewing Company
• Brewdog
• Lagunitas

The breweries list above received over 10 nominations.

The Top 20 Social Media Brewery Nominees (In NO Particular Order):

1. Dogfish Head
2. Surly
3. Victory Brewing Company
4. Brooklyn Brewing Company
5. Smuttynose
6. 21st Amendment
7. Summit
8. Flying Dog Brewing Company
9. Rogue
10. New Belgium Brewing Company
11. The Bruery
12. Oskar Blues
13. Great Divide
14. Stone Brewing Co.
15. Southern Tier Brewing Company
16. Founder’s Brewing Company
17. Abbey St. Martin
18. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
19. Goose Island
20. Devil’s Canyon

The second (and last) step is to open up the voting process. Each Top 20 brewery will be scored on 3 separate measures:

1. Proficiency
2. Engagement
3. Content

The scores will be tallied and the top 3 breweries in each category will be determined. Also, based on all scores collected, the top 10 Social Media Breweries will be ranked in order and the top three will be awarded people’s choice social media “medals.”

As with the nomination round, once the voting round goes live, people will have EXACTLY one week to vote.

The official ballot will go LIVE Wednesday, March 23rd. Please stay tuned!

I have been asked various versions of those questions more times than I can say. And naturally, I have my opinions and thoughts on which breweries I think use social media well, as well as opinions about who does it wrong.

But, I am social media geek and a snob, so I am curious to see what everyone else thinks. This is why I have decided to launch the “Top Ten Social Media Breweries” Awards.

The nomination round is the first step. I have developed a list of questions on Survey Monkey with multiple choice answers and some essay style responses to capture what it actually means for a brewery to be “good” at social media.

The last part of the survey calls for the nomination of the top ten social media breweries. The call for nominations will be open EXACTLY one week from tomorrow. The call for nominations will end on MONDAY MARCH 21st. After nominations have been made, I will create a final list of the Top 20 breweries on social media. And then a final vote will be placed. The voting will be open for EXACTLY one week. And the top ten social media breweries will be announced soon after.

My goal is to get as much feedback from as many people possible, to make the results really legitimate. The more people that get involved, the better the results will be. So please pass along the link! And may the best brewery win!!!

Click here to take survey

The Beer Blogger Interview Series

Curious what goes on in the minds of your favorite beer bloggers? Well, The Beer Wench is and she has embarked upon a mission to interview as many beer bloggers that she can — from all over the world. Are you a beer blogger? Do you want to share your story? Send me an email!

INTRODUCING: TIM CIGELSKE

AUTHOR OF: THE BEER RUNNER

Beer Blogger Interview

Full name: Tim Cigelske
Internet nickname: TeecycleTim
Twitter handle: @TeecycleTim
Name of blog: The Beer Runner
Current location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Background “Snapshot”

1. Where did you grow up?

Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

2. What sports if any did you play growing up, through college and beyond?

Running, ultimate Frisbee, basketball, cycling and flippy cup

3. How old were you when you had your first beer?

Five, I think.

4. If you can recall, what is the story of your first beer? Where did you have it? What style and brand was it?

My dad let me try a little bit of his beer at a family party. I think it may have been Pabst Blue Ribbon, and I thought it was terrible.

5. Where, if applicable, did you go to college? What did you study? What additional activities, organizations, sports did you partake in during college?

I went to Marquette University to study journalism. Pretty much did a lot of writing, interning for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Associated Press while I was there. I was part of an intramural 3-on-3 basketball league championship team. Still got the t-shirt from that.

Craft Beer Epiphany

Every craft beer enthusiast has at least one pinnacle craft beer experience that completely changes ones perspective on beer. I refer to this mind-blowing moment as a “craft beer epiphany.”

1. What was your first craft beer epiphany? Recall as many details about it as you can:

Not really sure I can pinpoint it to a single instance. What I really enjoyed — and still enjoy — about craft beer is how much it can constantly teach you, about taste, history, culture, science, marketing, community, etc etc.

2. Have you have additional craft beer epiphanies since the first? Detail as many of them as you wish:

Definitely going to Savor in Washington D.C. after a long day of hiking and realizing beer pairs really well with a wide variety of foods. My friends and I felt like we were in heaven.

Beer Blog Background

1. How long have you been writing your beer blog?

Since October 2008

2. What inspired you to start writing your blog?

No one (that I knew of) was writing about people who take both craft beer and a healthy, active lifestyle very seriously. Some of the biggest beer fans are know are hardcore triathletes, marathoners, hikers, cyclists, etc. I think because both people who are into these types of sports and craft beer are adventures — it’s the same personality type. What I didn’t know was how many people fit into this category. I’ve been blown away at the number of beer runners from every sport that have been featured on the blog.

3. Why did you chose the name of your blog?

I came up with it, not surprisingly, during a run. (A State Park in Maine, to be exact.)

4. What are you personal goals for your blog? What do you hope to achieve with it?

First and foremost, I want to give voice to a group of beer lovers and athletes who don’t really have a place devoted to their dual interests quite so specifically. And through these experiences, I’d like to teach myself and others about the cool new beers and adventures that these people are constantly uncovering.

5. What is one of the coolest things that happened to you as a result of being a beer blogger?

The cool people you’re constantly meeting, both online and in person at places like the Great American Beer Fest (where I finally met The Beer Wench!) I’ve always said there’s no community quite like a community of runners, and now I’ve found another community just like it.

6. What are you top 3 favorite beer blogs/beer websites?

Can I be biased? I have to say No. 1 my parent site, Draftmag.com.

The name says it all with BEER N BIKES.

I’m a big fan of Chipper Dave at Fermentedly Challenged.

And of course, the Beer Wench is awesome for a variety of reasons, and you’re giving me my first interview about The Beer Runner

Beer Talk

1. What are your top 3 favorite beer styles?

IPAs, Belgian trippels, stouts

2. What are your top 3 favorite breweries?

Sprecher, Dogfish Head, New Glarus

3. If you could work with or for any one brewery, which one would it be and why?

I once spent a night shift working with a Lakefront Brewery worker for an article I was writing, and it was a fun experience. I’m not sure you can go wrong with working with any brewer. But I’d have to go with Dogfish Head, the most adventurist brewery out there.

4. Are you a homebrewer? If yes, what is the most unique and interesting beer recipes you’ve brewed as a homebrewer?

No, I’m sure I’d screw it up something fierce.

5. What is your favorite beer and food pairing?

Honestly, tacos and Schlitz and/or PBR.

The Personal Side

1. What is your current day job?

I do the social media marketing for a private university.

2. If you could change your career at this very moment, without any restrictions on what you could do, what would you want to do and why?

Exactly what I’m doing right now. It’s super fun.

3. Are you married? Children?

Jess and I have been married for a bit over three years now, and we’re expecting our first baby (other than our beagle) in early May. Craziness.

4. Outside of beer and writing, what are some of your other hobbies?

Other than running and biking? I’m taking business classes and I read a lot of Chuck Klosterman books and articles.

Off The Beaten Path

1. If you were a style of beer, what style would be an why?

Probably an Oktoberfest, thanks to my German heritage.
2. You were caught smuggling beer illegally, which has now been made punishable by death. Right before you are sent to the executioner, you are offered one last beer. What beer would you chose and why?

Wow. Probably something from Sprecher, both because they have incredible beer, and it would remind me of home.

3. If I contracted you to brew a beer (or design a beer recipe) called “The Beer Wench” — what style would you chose and what, if any, extra ingredients would you add?

Imperial IPA, with extra hops

4. If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?

People tend to usually go for the obvious superhero, like Superman. But I wouldn’t want to be Superman. Way too much responsibility. I’d like to be the Flash. You get to be super fast, without the crushing burden of society’s expectations on you.

5. What is one of the craziest things you have ever done and lived to tell the story?

I fell down a mountain (well, about 20 feet or so down a mountain) and had to be airlifted by a helicopter off the continental divide in Montana. I suffered a pretty bad concussion and had to get some stitches, but otherwise walked away OK.

6. What are your thoughts on bacon?

It’s been around for a long time, but for some reason bacon seems to be getting a lot of hype right now. I think bacon sculptures takes it a bit too far, but you can’t go wrong with eating the stuff. I’m a fan.

SPECIAL THANKS TO TIM FOR AN AWESOME INTERVIEW!

CHEERS!

Two topics in which I seem to possess a seemingly endless ability to talk about are beer and social media (specifically Twitter). I constantly find myself engaging others (often strangers) in conversations about both. And usually, these conversations result in me looking like the biggest geek on the planet. Which is fine by me.

My love, passion and affinity for social media has introduced me to some pretty damn amazing people as well as has brought me opportunities that I would never have found otherwise. One such opportunity is a charity beer dinner with Samuel Adams (The Boston Beer Company) at the Culinary Institute of Charleston, SC on July 14th.

Little (well I’m not so little) old (technically I’m not old either) me got invited to attend THE ULTIMATE BEER AND FOOD EXPERIENCE. The event is being co-hosted by The Boston Beer Company and The Culinary Institute of Charleston with Special Guest, Bob Cannon — Head Brewer for Samuel Adams.

And the best part? It is ALL EXPENSE PAID.

Now how does one get such an honorable invitation? This is where all of my time and energy on social media platforms has successfully paid off (hey Mom & Dad … look at me now).

Combine a passion for writing with a passion for beer and a passion for all things Internet … add in a community of equally passionate food, wine & beer bloggers … create interactions and develop relationships with this community … and you have one big OPEN DOOR to the (food & beverage) world. The connections and opportunities are endless on the internet — and especially on Twitter. And there is no greater proof than this latest opportunity that just “fell” oh so gracefully into my lap.

The image right above is the menu for the beer dinner. Select chefs from The Culinary Institute of Charleston have incorporated the beers of Samuel Adams into a tasting menu to be envied. In addition to containing beer as a major ingredient, each dish will also be paired with a Samuel Adams beer.

This dinner excites me for several reasons. Not only will it be the “ultimate beer & food experience“, but it will also give me an opportunity to taste some of Samual Adam’s more rare and less mainstream, specialty beers. One such beer is UTOPIA — arguably the boldest, most alcoholic beer in the world. Rumor has it that Utopia will be paired with one of the desserts. (I am praying that both my stomach and my liver will hold up until dessert — and by the sound of things, this may prove to be quite a challenge).

Naturally, every great event has an equally exciting & exhilirating after-party. Lucky for me, I have also been invited to attend the special “VIP” after-party with special guest and head Samuel Adams brewer, Bob Cannon.

Now I know what you are thinking — what is the catch? After all, there is no such thing as “free” in a capitalist society. Well folks, I have agreed to do somethings in exchange for a free flight to Charleston, a free night’s stay in one of Charleston’s premier hotels, a free ticket to the beer dinner and free pass to the VIP after-party. For all this, I will blog … and tweet … and talk about the event. And while at the event, I will also blog, tweet, talk — and even live ustream the event.

Life, my friends, does not get better than this. I get to do some of the things I love to do most in life (traveling, eating good food & drinking good beer with good people) in exchange for two other things that I love to do most (writing my blog & engaging with others).

Stay tuned for more information regarding the event! CHEERS!