The introduction and rapid growth of social media certainly sent shocks to beer media and establishments in ways still being considered. From the advent of blogs to Facebook, Twitter, Untappd and on through to YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and other more visually-based services, the media world surrounding craft beer continues to shift. Breweries and media, both large and small, remain torn on how heavily to invest in such services and their true value. If you run a brewpub or a brewery taproom, it makes sense, at a minimum, to have a Facebook page listing hours of operation or to tweet new beer releases or events. Beyond the basics, however, there is little agreement and even less substantive evidence to look for counsel. A business’s level of social media involvement varies greatly from company to company, with some breweries employing staff to closely watch the vast scope of the internet for any mention of their brands, and others preferring more in-person interactions.
Andy Crouch, “All the News That’s Fit to Tweet”, Beer Advocate (July 2015), 20.