Brewdog's drinks always follow the same consistent design but with a different name and colour to define them. This easily makes their brand recognisable even if the product is something one hasn't tried before.
Never judging a book by it's cover, the packaging of this Old Thumper wasn't to my taste but it was a very enjoyable beer. There will be hundreds of hidden gems out there which people like myself miss out on because the label doesn't look very nice or it doesn't attract the right audience.
Brooklyn Brewery's branding was designed by none other than Milton Glaser. The consistency across all of their bottles & cans is second to none and what truly defines each drink is the colours on the label. Everything else is the same. This is very much like Brewdog's method of branding their products.
Own-branded drinks tend to possess a personality that goes hand in hand with the brand itself. Whilst in London with my girlfriend I had a try of The Gourmet Burger Kitchen's own-branded Pale Ale which was recommended with the burger I had ordered. I absolutely loved the drink but the packaging didn't feel like it possessed the character that the rest of the restaurant expressed.
Again in London, we found a very small peculiar pub on the outskirts of Covent Garden where I decided to ironically try this northern drink which the lady on the bar said was her favourite. The packaging on this was really appealing on the front communicating the age of the brewery whilst the back told the story of the drink — a feature I thought was very interesting as it almost tries to win you over by showing you their true nature.
I only once before had a Saltaire Brewery ale on tap at the old bar in Leeds University and really enjoyed it. When I saw it on the shelf in a Tesco Local. Using the same marketing strategy of branding as Brewdog & Brooklyn all of their packaging looks the same, just with a different colour and name.
Ilkley Brewery was one of many around Leeds that hopped into the Tour de France bandwagon and released this limited edition IPA called Marie Jaune with the Tour colours in the banner as well as a gentleman on a penny farthing. Taking advantage of local happenings to market their products is always a smart move, especially when people a drinking for the occasion.
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