BOCA RATON, FLA.—Washington state’s craft beer lovers will soon have a one-stop resource for the latest information on all the state’s craft brews, brewery tours, and related events through an easy-to-use mobile app created by Brewers Marketing in partnership with the Washington Beer Commission.
The custom-branded app will be designed around the specific needs and interests of Washington’s craft beer aficionados. “Serious beer lovers are always looking for the next best thing,” explained Susan Erickson of Brewers Marketing. “So we designed the app to make it as easy as possible for them to find the information they want—now they can access up-to-date news about all of Washington’s breweries in one place.”
With the app, thirsty beer lovers in Washington will no longer have to guess where to get a great local beer—the app uses smartphones’ locational data to point users to the closest craft breweries and retail sources for local brews. App users can also see calendars of upcoming events at Washington breweries, get contact information and directions, design and plan their own statewide progressive brewery tours, and curate their own personal lists of favorite brews (as well as wish lists of new beers to try).
Because craft beer lovers know that the best sources of reliable information about great beers are other beer lovers, the apps also leverage the power of crowd sourcing. Users can create online profiles and post ratings, comments, and photos of individual beers. Their photos and recommendations not only become part of their individual profiles, but are used by the app to generate a ranked list of the user communities’ favorite brews. “The beauty of this is that it allows users to benefit from the experiences of their peers,” Erickson said. “So the information they get from the app is authentic and credible. They don’t feel like they’re at the receiving end of an ad campaign.”
In addition, users will be able to sign up through the app for the Washington Beer Lovers (WABL), the official Washington state beer fan club, and other WABL-related features are planned for future releases.
The second phase of app development will offer detailed information on Washington’s craft beer festivals. “App users will be able to see which brewers will be there and what beers they’ll be bringing, as well as information on food vendors and speakers,” Erickson said. They foresee launching this feature in time for the Washington State Craft Beer Festival in June, Erickson added.
The apps not only make it easy for fans of craft beer to discover new brews, they also give the guilds and their member breweries a simple, low-cost way to engage and educate new and existing customers and build brand awareness. “Brewers can update their information on the app as easily as they send e-mails,” Erickson said. “All they have to do is log into their secure portal from any device and upload or type in the information they want—links to upcoming tastings, info on new or limited releases, schedules of brewery tours, what have you. And users get these updates in real time. Best of all, because all these updates are right on people’s phones, the breweries always stay top of mind.”
Brewers Marketing is a privately held software design firm based in the FAU Research Park in Boca Raton, Florida. Its mission is to support the fast-growing craft beer market by providing craft brewers with branded customer engagement applications incorporating both cutting-edge technology and designs focused on the unique logistical and human needs of each client.
For more information, contact Susan Erickson at 561-206-6291.
