Posted November 5, 2020
Part of our tough job as a food and beverage agency is to taste test the product. We travel the country (when possible), learning from mead makers, brewers, distillers, bakers and more who educate us through formulas, trial and error stories and tours. Sipping the finished result is arguably the
Posted January 23, 2020
I decided to stop drinking (well, at least for 365 days). I’ll spare you my reasons why. Because what I think is important is whether craft non-alcoholic beer is “good.” Can non-alcoholic beer replace the real stuff? My answer is NO. But, we’ve come a long way from O’Doul’s (which
Posted March 5, 2019
There are two types of packaging innovations. The first: gimmicks designed to increase product sales. Think Coca-Cola putting people’s names on cans. Super cheesy, but also super effective. The second: structural or graphical enhancements designed to improve the flavor, freshness or experience of a product. Think tuna being sold in
Posted February 26, 2019
You submitted your beer or spirit to a competition. You’ve shipped your product. You wait in anticipation for the results. And, when they finally come, you’ve won a medal! Now what? It takes real investment (literally and figuratively) to enter a beer or spirits competition. And that’s not factoring the
Posted February 12, 2019
“Okay everyone, take a look at this. We put stuff in here and the move it over here. Everyone, look at this. From here we add this stuff and then cook it. Before we put it in here, it goes in there. After that, it goes into something smaller and
Posted January 29, 2019
‘Tis the season for stouts. In this new monthly feature, we’ll be looking at our favorite products every month based on the time of year. Up first, we’re bundling up and writing about our favorite stouts we tasted in January. Abraxas, Perennial Artisan Ales What more can we say about
Posted January 24, 2019
January 24 is National Beer Can Appreciation Day. Why might you ask? Well, this day in 1935 was the historic and thirst-quenching day beer was first sold in cans. Want to know how you can celebrate? Buy a can, marvel at its design and drink in delight – it’s a
Posted December 12, 2018
Winter is stout season. Big, barrel-aged monsters with high ABVs, syrupy viscosities and hints of chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla and chilis. I’m a seasonal beer drinking, shifting styles as the weather turns. I’m knee-deep in stout season and loving it, but duty calls and I’m obliged to set my stout aside
Posted December 7, 2018
This isn’t a humblebrag. I promise I’m making a point here. I’m an ultramarathoner. In fact, I just completed a 50-mile race a couple weeks ago and was the fifth fastest male at doing so. I also eat really healthy. I read labels, avoid processed foods where possible and am
Posted September 4, 2018
What did you do for your summer vacation? I used to hate writing those essays in school. Now, I’m kind of excited to write this blog post detailing what the Brightly Creative team has been up to this summer. It was packed to say the least. We had meetings, conferences,
Posted June 18, 2018
Beards, bees, brewing science and a lot of honey. Those elements are standard of any Honey Beer Summit. But what was unique about our recent Austin event, the sixth Honey Beer Summit we have hosted? Barrel-aging honey, honey sours, hops and honey, increased honey usage, goats, and countless chigger bites.
Posted May 9, 2018
The year is 2013. Our client, the National Honey Board, had started to field quite a few calls about the use of honey in the brewing industry. We knew it was an emerging market for honey, but we also knew it was a small market at the time. With a
Posted February 23, 2018
As expected, Boston Beer Company’s 2017 financial results failed to impress analysts and continued to spotlight some fundamental flaws in the beer industry. In my opinion, the most foreboding number from the company’s 2017 results: 3.8 million barrels shipped. That may seem like a lot of beer, but it’s actually
Posted January 20, 2018
The number of new craft breweries in the United States is exploding through the roof. The number of people drinking beer has remained stable. Something’s gotta give, and recently released sales stats from IRI Worldwide provide a bit of insight. I’ll attempt to mine this insight into a cognitive blog
Posted January 5, 2018
We work quite a bit in the beer industry, and we quite enjoy the products that craft brewers craft, from hazy IPAs to tart Berliner Weisses. Through our travels in 2017, we’ve had the opportunity to taste some amazing beers, whether it’s at one of the Honey Beer Summits we
Posted January 5, 2018
Dates: April 10-14, 2017 City: Washington, D.C. Brightly Team: Keith, Jonathan and Alison One of my favorite shows of the year! Great beer, great friends, great coworkers and a new city to explore. Plus, three days talking about honey. What’s not to love about the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC)? Jonathan,
