In the dozen or so years that Country Boy Brewing has been around, the Kentucky brewery has grown into multiple locations and used its influence to help change state laws to better help breweries. Feeling confident about the beers and the direction of the beverage program, during the COVID-19 pandemic one of the founding partners, Daniel “DH” Harrison took on a different role as brand manager.
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He and partners Nathan and Evan Coppage saw the importance of dialing in messaging, branding, and a company culture that would help the brewery grow and come out of the pandemic stronger.
The role of brand manager has become an increasingly important one within craft beer. While it is a common role for larger breweries, smaller breweries with limited staff, cannot always dedicate a person to the larger picture focused on smaller details. Having this role in a brewery can be critically important.
“The taste of our beer has always led the charge for everything Country Boy does,” he says. “My sphere of influence is the brand. Our voice and how we talk to our people. That’s our voice on social media, that’s our branding, that’s our tap rooms, the look and feel.”
Harrison says he looks to other places that he respects and enjoys drinking at for inspiration but then works to bring cohesion into the brand overall, one that makes sense for Country Boy.
While the role is external to communicate with customers and accounts, he also sees it as internal.
“The title brand manager morphed into cheerleader, a morale captain, or morale officer,” he says. It’s being focused on what is happening within the brewery and taproom walls.
“It’s our culture inside the four walls, how we talk to each other, and what Country Boy means to the employees that are the family. That’s what I take a lot of pride in.”
Harrison notes that this is a difficult time for craft beer and that the brand has done a lot of “soul searching” on who they are, what they do, why they do it.
“There’s a lot of new players in the market. I think a lot of people are going to have to do some soul searching to decide for their companies, where their hearts at.”
“If you’re a brewery that wants to follow every trend that comes out and get there early, jump on it. Do it. Make some money. Move on to the next. I think there’s a place for you in this space. That’s not us.”
He says Country Boy isn’t a trend follower or a money seeker.
“We’re beer people. We’re going to live and die with beer. If we die with it, so be it. But we got in this world with craft beer, we’ll go out with it.”
He says that breweries need to get lean, get smarter, get better, and more efficient. All while not losing sight of self or the customers.Having a brand manager focusing on those details can make the road a bit more smooth.
“A consumer that wants a fantastic craft beer product that has integrity, made locally with minimally processed ingredients. That person is not gone anywhere, and they’re still going to be there. And it’s our job to reach them in a specific way, to tell our story, to position our brand in a certain way that it meets that customer where they need to be met. But it ain’t going to be easy.”