EP-119 Rachael Weseloh of Brooklyn Brewery

In the age of small and local, some of the more mature craft beer brands in
the US are looking to new markets to find the relevance, brand awareness
and the resulting sales that they seek. For the 28 year old Brooklyn
Brewery this means investing heavily in markets all over the world
including The UK, Sweden, Australia and more recentlt East Asia, thanks to
the recent sale of a 24% stake in the business to Japan’s Kirin.

But finding that relevance isn’t as simple as just shipping over a few
containers worth of beer, throwing a launch party and hoping it sells.
Building relevance requires the careful investment of time and resources
and Brooklyn, who’ve been exporting to beer to the UK for over a decade,
should know more about this than most. In fact, such is the success of
their export market that 45% the beer it produces is now sold overseas.

Rachael Weseloh has been Brooklyn’s UK brand ambassador for just over two
years now. As well as being the brewery’s eyes and ears on the ground,
she’s also throwing events like Brooklyn’s popular Beer Mansion and annual
Mash party, which are creating a deep sense of engagement with consumers,
while behind the scenes it’s endearing the brand to wholesalers and
retailers alike.

Weseloh originally hails from Humboldt County in the North of California
and it was here she began her beer journey, working for Fortuna’s Eel River
Brewing Company. She eventually made her way to Paris, where she worked in
the French capitals vibrant Cocktail scene, before she eventually landed
her gig with Brooklyn and made London her home.

Over the next hour or so Weseloh and I chat about this continuing search
for relevance by beer brands and just how important markets like the UK are
to Brooklyn as the brewery continues to increases the impetus behind its
export program. We also chat about Brooklyn’s sister breweries, Swedens New
Carnigie and Norway’s E. C. Dahl’s as well as the brewery’s relationships
with its distributor, Carlsberg and it’s new partner, Kirin.