Company Blog

You Can Make Great Beer, But People Still Have To Know You’re There

by Adam Zack — August 26, 2026

“The product was never the problem.”

Scott here, filling in for Adam while he is gallivanting around on some vacation that I personally know he needs.

There is a small brewery tucked away on a little island in the Pacific Northwest. It is in a warehouse, a little off the beaten path, owned and operated by a husband-and-wife team.

And they make really good beer.

Every time I walk in, it reminds me of the early craft breweries I remember in San Diego. Nothing fancy. Industrial space, brewing equipment, a taproom, good beer and a loyal group of locals who figured out where the place was and kept coming back.

That model worked. In fact, some pretty successful breweries started exactly that way. But there comes a point when being the best-kept secret in town stops being charming and starts costing you business.

I have talked with people who live right here on the island who do not even know we have a brewery. On an island that is not exactly huge, that is hard for me to wrap my head around.

The frustrating part is that the hardest piece is already there: the product is good. There is a nice range of beer styles, guest taps and a core group of regulars who show up week after week. The owner knows beer. He knows how to brew it, and he has created something people enjoy.

The problem is not the beer. It is getting more people to discover it.

This is something I see with small businesses all the time. Someone starts a business because they are really good at something. A brewer wants to brew. A chef wants to cook. A contractor wants to build. A winemaker wants to make wine.

But owning a business eventually requires you to do more than the thing that got you into business in the first place.

You have to market it.

For a small local brewery, it could be surprisingly simple. Become a sponsor of community events. Get involved with organizations already bringing people together. Reach out to restaurants and see if they will dedicate a tap to a locally brewed beer. Do a tap takeover or a special collaboration. Build relationships with wineries and other businesses that complement rather than compete with you.

One local winery recently put one of the brewery’s kegs on tap. That is exactly the kind of partnership that makes sense. Their customers discover a local beer, the brewery gets exposure to people who might never have driven down that warehouse road, and two island businesses help each other.

Then there are the hundreds of visitors staying in short-term rentals throughout the area.

Why not give those hosts something to put in their rentals? “Welcome to the island. While you are here, stop by our local brewery.” Maybe it includes a small discount, a special tasting, a gift certificate or simply a good-looking card with a map and taproom hours. Give Airbnb and vacation-rental hosts a reason to recommend the brewery when their guests ask, “What should we do tonight?”

Keep the website current. Post regularly on social media. Show what is on tap. Introduce a new beer. Show the brewing process. Post a picture of the regulars laughing around a table. Tell people when a food truck is coming. Promote trivia, music or whatever is happening that week.

Give people a reason to remember you are there.

None of these ideas individually transforms a business. Together, though, they create presence. And presence matters.

The goal is not to turn a small island brewery into some giant corporate operation. In fact, I think the warehouse, the local feel and the slightly-out-of-the-way location are part of what makes a place like this special.

Market that.

“Come find the island brewery the locals know about.”

That is a story.

Sometimes a small business reaches a plateau not because the product is not good enough, but because the owner has taken it as far as their particular skill set and available time will allow. There is nothing wrong with that. Recognizing it can be the beginning of the next stage of the business.

The person who makes great beer does not also have to be the person designing promotions, updating the website, posting on social media and chasing down partnerships. Sometimes growth means letting somebody else do what they do well, so you can keep doing what you do well.

There is something special about a locally owned brewery surviving in a little warehouse on an island in the Pacific Northwest. I do not want it to become something different. I just want more people to know it is there.

Because you can make the best beer on the island. But people still have to know where to find you.

Until next time,

Cheers — Scott