The Firkin for May 2015

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Two emojis and ten words. That is all it took for an employee who was the Digital Communications Manager for the NBA’s Houston Rockets to get fired.

That tweet which if uttered, minus the emojis, on a court by a player may have garnered a technical foul or a dinky fine. The joke was of the sore winner variety.  A heat of the moment stupid little thing that the interwebs throw around like superheroes toss super villains through buildings.

It is also basically what is chronicled via different examples in the new Jon Ronson book, “So you have Been Publicly Shamed”.  Which should be required reading for anyone with a Twitter account or friends of the non-computer variety. The take-away: Employees + poor communication of a brand is a bad mixture. And it is happening in craft beer now too.

Example #1

Despite it being baseball and boring, Padre fans got into a dust up on Instagram this month when Saint Archer Brewing thanked the Dodgers for being a big supporter (buyer) of the brewery. The passive-aggressive dig being that their hometown teams aren’t buying for their stadiums.

Was Saint Archer rightly upset about not on offer at Qualcomm and Petco? Probably.  Did they communicate that anger it in a way that exemplifies the brand. Not even close. All they did was alienate consumers on the fence and give haters a chance to hate.

You have to be crystal clear in your writing. Tone and humor get lost without any context to place them in. And I strongly suggest making each post as simple as possible and directed at a target audience. For Saint Archer it could go like this: Instagram that your beer is available at Dodger Stadium. Then a tweet aimed at Padre fans with the dates when they play in LA and can buy their beer. Then a third post with a link to where you can drink their beer in San Diego before or after the game since you can’t get it inside the ballpark.

It may be super neutral but it gets your point across unless your goal is to rattle the cage. Which is certainly a way to go but one fraught with paying someone to defuse any situations that get out of hand.

Example #2

Then Stone Brewing, who usually walk the line of cheeky as well as anyone joined the passive-aggressive rock throwing with a press release and label diatribe against those who copy and paste and Tweet about their beers. (Obviously shortened from the long-winded Stone PR version. 
They added this gem to the end of their press release about Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard: “Notice how this release does not do your work for you. I understand you are overworked and underpaid, but you will have to write this one up yourself. It’s called “journalism,” not “copy and paste-ism.” For better or worse, I trust in you. I truly hope you share that trust in yourself.”

I don’t know how re-running a press release is a crime.  I thought that was why press releases were sent out. Personally, I always skipped down to the tasting notes and what Mitch Steele has to say about the beer and what food it pairs with because it was helpful information. Then, maybe, skimmed the superfluous word-ery on top. It makes one wonder if this is an official Stone position or the opinion of one person in marketing who doesn’t like blogs that run press releases. 

In both instances, being passive-aggressive doesn’t work. It hardly works in real conversation between actual people.  Let alone on the web. Stone should have gritted their teeth and sent out the usual release for one simple reason.  The beer should have done the talking not a PR person. 

No matter the form of communication, whoever is in charge of getting information out to people need to be aware that their words and attitude will soon reverberate in the echo chamber of the interwebs. 

Mis-steps happen on social media and they will continue to happen as long as people see it as fun and not at all harmful. Either hire a professional firm and educate them on your beer and brewery or hire your own person who isn’t allowed to hit send on anything unless someone else looks at it.  Like a check that needs two signatures to be valid. 

That former Rocket?  He later spoke about how the tweet was responded to was not what he wanted but he owned up about how he alone was responsible for how it was received. He then said the magic words, don’t underestimate the power and reach of social media.

Tweet a Beer

So, as I was reading the L.A. Times, I ran across an article about the Poetweet website that makes poetry out of your Twit feed.  Well, I had to try that with my feed of course…..

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OK, not Shakespare or McKuen for sure but I was intrigued enough to try again with the Eagle Rock feed….

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I don’t know if I should explore this further or not.

This will break the Internet

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We all know that beer blogs don’t rule the interwebs. Number one on the ‘net is probably not a great hook for any new beer blogger to pair with beer. But beer and cats (who are arguably slightly above John Oliver in popularity) is genius and that is exactly what Cats on Tap and their Twitter feed has done.

Simple stuff. Cats with beer. Bottles, or boxes. Turn off your brain and just scroll.

Draft to Try, Bottle to Buy

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Usually my Twitter feed is a snapshot of what craft beer I am drinking currently.  See Twit # 1.

But now, I will also be adding the following.

On Friday – a tweet with a draft beer on tap in the Los Angeles area to try

and on Monday – a tweet of a bottle to buy from one of our fine bottle shops.

Two more reasons to follow me on Twitter.

#MashTag

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BrewDog somehow manages to straddle the line of being grandstanding while still being true to the beer.  And this later Twitter inspired brew is a perfect example of that, “Inspired by the passion, knowledge and enthusiasm of craft beer drinkers, we set out to create a truly democratic craft beer. We entrusted all the important decisions to our fans, customers and anyone who wanted to learn more about the craft brewing process and cast their vote. We gave up complete control of every single decision which shaped the final beer that the #MashTag project produced.”

And what did #MashTag become?  A big 7.5% “American Brown Ale loaded with New Zealand hops and aged on Hazelnuts and Oak chips.”  Whether that combo works is another story but I am intrigued.

Now how do I hashtag a #mashtag?

IPA Day version 2.0


Year 2 of the #IPADay is TODAY!

So get over to Twitter or follow the action on Untappd to see what the blogosphere is drinking from the world of IPA. And if you need a reminder of FAQ’s from last year then click HERE.

And I have the perfect choice for this momentous day. You can’t go small. So I have decided to go huge. Actually GIGANTIC!

IPA Day

Tomorrow is social media IPA day!

Below is how you can play along at home – courtesy of the Beer Wench…..

“International #IPADay is a grassroots movement to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers, and brewers worldwide through social media. On Thursday August 4th, craft beer drinkers across the social sphere and across the globe will raise pints in a collective toast to one of craft beer’s most iconic styles: the India Pale Ale. This celebrated style represents the pinnacle of brewing innovation with its broad spectrum of diverse brands, subcategories, and regional flavor variations – making it the perfect style to galvanize craft beer’s social voice.

#IPADay is not the brainchild of a corporate marketing machine, nor is it meant to serve any particular beer brand. #IPADay is opportunity for breweries, bloggers, businesses and consumers to connect and share their love of craft beer. Getting involved is easy; the only requirements are an appreciation for great beer and the will to spread the word. Anyone can participate by enjoying IPA with friends, making some noise online with the #IPADay hashtag, and showing the world that craft beer is more than a trend!”

Tips on How to Take Part:

1. Organize an #IPADay event at your brewery, brewpub, restaurant, bar, home, or office (Ex: An IPA dinner/cheese pairing/comparative or educational tasting/cask night/tap takeover…). Share your events on the official #IPADay forum at http://www.ratebeer.com.

2. On August 4th, share your photos, videos, blog posts, tasting notes, recipes, and thoughts with the world. Be sure to include the #IPADay hashtag in your posts Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WordPress, RateBeer, Foursquare, Yelp, Untappd or any other social media site.

3. See what other people are saying by searching “#IPADay” on Google, search.twitter.com, et cetera…

4. Track down your favorite IPA’s, ones you’ve been meaning to try, and ones you’ve never heard of; share them with friends and share your thoughts with the world.

5. Have a good time and know that by sharing your experiences online, you’re strengthening the craft beer community at large.

Tweet that Brew

I am not a Twitter sort of guy. I am not a long winded writer to begin with so condensing further would probably not help me improve my style or grammar.

That being said, people really dig it. For every luddite there seems to be 10 Tweeters. Since, it is my self-appointed job to get everyone to drink better beer, I will not leave the tweeters out.

Go to Twit A Brew and you can instantly review (in 140 characters or less) your thoughts on the beer in front of you.

According to the creators, “My real hope for this site is to help people explore and share all the wonderful beers that are out there.”
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