Your website works twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to attract and educate customers about your brand. Why not make it epic? Investing in a great website for your brewery is extremely wise when developing a marketing strategy–and it’s actually not that difficult to implement. In this post, we’ll explore the elements of great brewery websites, discuss what features and tools to include, and share some of our favorite brewery websites for inspiration.

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What Makes a Great Brewery Website

A great brewery website includes a healthy mix of important information, authenticity, and impressive design. Read up on some of the elements that will take your brewery website to the next level.

Prominence of Relevant Information

Most brewery website visitors are looking for specific information, such as your location, hours, beer list, food menus, and event schedules. Many also want to order beer and other merch directly from the website. Therefore, all this and any other information you want visitors to know should either be displayed prominently on the homepage or easy to find on another page.

Mobile-Responsive Layout

Mobile browsing has become the most popular way to experience the Internet, with 52.5% of all web traffic coming from mobile devices. More and more users are conducting searches and clicking on ads right from their smartphones. As such, a responsive website that is easy for users to navigate is a must. 

Great Design

You’ve invested in making great-looking packaging for your beer – don’t stop there. Carry the aesthetic appeal of your products over to the website design. Brand colors, high-quality images and graphics, and sophisticated typography are just a few of the elements that make a great site design. There are dozens of cost-effective resources for website design but for a truly premium site, consider partnering with a web design agency that specializes in creating websites for breweries. Agencies like The Brandsmen or The Brand Guild would be fantastic to partner with.

Personality

Authenticity, branding, personality… whatever you want to call it, your brewery website needs it. It’s not enough to include only the basic need-to-know information and a few pictures. Make your brewery website feel unique by distilling your brand vibe into the copy and content on the page. Is your brand relaxed and go-with-the-flow? Convey that through the language you use on the website. Likewise, if your brand is a bit more distinguished, elevate your tone and design to reflect that.

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Tools and Features to Include on a Brewery Website

Aside from content and design, there are certain tools and features you should include on your brewery website to help it stand out.

Product Locator

A product locator is one of the best features to include on your website for a number of reasons. Product locators help new and current customers find your product in stores near them, so it's easy to stock up on their favorite beers. Product locators also provide valuable data about users who are searching for your product and locations where your product is most popular. The Grappos Product Locator does all this with the added benefits of being fully customizable and managed in its entirety by the Grappos team.

‍Request a Grappos Product Locator demo →

Age Gate

Though age gates are not technically required by law, most websites that market (or sell) alcoholic beverages include them as a recommended best practice. You can keep yours simple or you can spice it up with a fun graphic or witty copy to keep branding consistent across your site.

Online Store

An online store is a convenient way for customers to buy your products, even if all you sell is merch. If you live in an area that allows the sale and distribution of alcohol online, an e-commerce store is a great way for customers to get ahold of your brews. BigCommerce and Shopify are just two of the many e-commerce website platforms available right now.

Learn more: 9 Must-Have E-Commerce Website Features

Instagram Widget

Instagram has become an indispensable marketing tool for breweries. Social posts can showcase everything from events to new beer releases, events, company culture, and more. Including an Instagram widget on your brewery website not only makes it easy for the content shared on your page to appear on your website but also helps generate new followers for your page. 

Learn more: How to Boost Alcohol Sales Using Social Media →

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The 10 Best Brewery Websites and Why We Like Them

Without further ado, here are our top ten favorite brewery websites. Check them out for inspiration when creating a website for your beer brand.

1. Pabst Blue Ribbon

The Pabst website is as refreshing as their beer. The design is clean and simple and supports their bold brand colors: red, white, and blue. Site visitors can find a plethora of Pabst merch, find Pabst beers near them, or have them delivered, and can even peruse beer-inspired recipes.

2. New Holland Brewing Co.

New Holland leans into great photos and graphics to make their brewery website great. Throughout the site, visitors can see the vibrant culture that makes New Holland Brewing Co. special. The site also features a robust list of all New Holland beers and information about each brew, making this a haven for fans of the brand.

3. Sapporo Beer

The Sapporo website has been beautifully created with stunning graphics and compelling content that speaks to the rich history of the brand. Though Sapporo is one of the oldest beer brands in Japan, having been founded in 1876, their website feels modern, fresh, and energetic.

4. Brooklyn Brewery

Every inch of the Brooklyn Brewery website is dripping in love for the community in which the brewery resides. The vibrant website represents the creative individuals the brewery seeks to represent. The fonts are easy to read, the photos are high-quality, and the brand colors create a beautiful contrast.

5. New Belgium

The New Belgium brewery website is full of color and energy. The homepage itself feels like an absolute treat. What we like about the website is that it keeps the important stuff at the forefront: seasonal beer releases, their mission as a company, and locations for their breweries across the country. 

6. Guinness

Guinness is a brand name that needs no introduction. Their website is sleek and refined, a nod to the palates of their most loyal fans. Guinness understands that fans of their beer are die-hard, so they’ve dedicated an entire page to the “Guinness experience.” This brewery website shows that the brand truly understands and caters to their audience.

7. 21st Amendment Brewery

This brewery designed their website for a more energetic, fun-loving audience. What visitors see when visiting the site are bright colors, high-resolution images, and wacky beer can art. Navigation throughout the site is very simple, and even the language is clear and straightforward. It’s a great brewery website.

8. Samuel Adams

Another revolutionary-inspired beer brand, Samuel Adams is a staple in the American beer industry. Their website is about more than just beer, however. Samuel Adams recognizes their responsibility to their Boston roots and showcases their support and participation in the community. 

9. Corona USA

As lovers of relaxation, Corona embraces a laid-back approach to their website. Photos of beaches and palm trees are displayed throughout the site, and the copy prompts visitors to take a deep breath and stay a while. Known for their crisp, refreshing beers, they’ve also cleverly included images of their products with fresh condensation on the outside of the bottles suggesting an ice-cold beverage is within reach just through the screen. 

10. Resident Culture Brewing Company

This Charlotte-based company keeps things cool and creative with their brewery website. We like their commitment to branding with bright colors against a dark background, and we love the strong sense of culture they’ve created. The Resident Culture brewery website feels more like a portal to a secret club than anything else, and we’re here for it.

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Cheers to Great Web Design

There are so many ways to make a great brewery website. We hope these suggestions and examples have inspired you to create a website that best represents your brand and helps motivate new customers to visit your brewery.

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