During my time with Hugger Mugger Brewing, I was able to help design a few of their beers. Eventually, I was able to fully design a beer. My style is to create products that are fun and interesting without becoming too extreme. Through an intense market research study, my internal analytics research, and some brainstorming, Through the Sourglass was born.
Through the Sourglass
Blackberry Grapefruit Gose
Description:
Through the Sourglass is a traditional style Gose, meaning it is more “tart" than it is “sour”, like you would find with American Goses. Blackberry is forefront, balanced by the acidity of the grapefruit. Finished with Pink Himalayan Sea Salt. Color is a beautiful pinkish-lavender color. Interesting and enticing, yet balanced. At 5.6% ABV and 0 IBUs, this beer is extremely easy to drink!
Research and Analytics:
B2B Clients Parameters
Morgan Street Food Hall (client)
Downtown Raleigh establishments that focus on beer
Other food halls in the area
Other places that 21-39 year old professionals frequent
Results
Expectations for the brand
Fun and adventurous products
High quality
Well balanced
Targeted Demographics
21-39 year old professionals
Athletic and/or health conscious
Beer nerds interested in quality over quantity
Looking for interesting styles
Market Analysis
Competitor Parameters
20+ Competitors
Independent local craft breweries of the Raleigh area
Was there a niche that wasn’t filled?
What styles are customers asking for?
What ideas do customers have?
Results
Large market share for a tart beer
Not many breweries produced sours
Those that did only had one
Most sours were not well balanced
Sour Beers
Liked by our target demographic
21-39, health conscious, drinks socially, adventurous
Most beers were too sour, and customers were not happy
Most sour beers used light fruits like peaches or oranges
Lacking a darker fruit profile
Competitor Analysis
Beer by Demographic
Food Halls
IPAs sell best
Sours sell well
Non-mainstream products do not sell well
Downtown Raleigh
Crisp beer does better
Active drinking lifestyle
Move around with lighter styles vs. sitting and analyzing
Targeted Demographic
Younger Professionals
Adventurous and willing to try different styles
Great Brand Loyalty
Health Conscious
Buy lighter styles more frequently
Beer Nerds
Quality and intrigue dominate the market
Internal Analytics
Own Product List
Current/Upcoming Products
14 traditional beers
Lagers, IPAs, Porters, and Stouts
Only 1 sour
Traditional sour
We wanted to compliment, not compete
Previous Products
Had previous success with fruited beers
2 of top 4 beers were sour/tart styles
4 retired sour style products in our top 15 on untappd
Customers knew us for our sour products
Well balanced
High quality ingredients
Review:
To the right is the biography on untappd, an app that can track and review beer. Often referred to as the Yelp! of the beer world, it is an invaluable resource for bar managers, customers, and beer drinkers alike. During the time that it was in stock, Through the Sourglass was our 2nd highest rated beer. Often vying for 1st place, it sold out extremely fast. It finished with an overall review score of 3.95 stars, which is stellar on this tough grading app.
Lessons Learned:
Through this product design, and subsequent launch and marketing strategy, I gained a great introspective of the Product Design process. I learned that planning and release is almost as important as the design itself. We should have planned this in the winter to release in the spring. Due to supply issues and internal product and space issues, we could not. Secondly, while the name is an ode to Alice in Wonderland, that was not one of the original names. Unfortunately, all the previous names were already taken. Customer complaints that they expected it to be more sour, due to the name, were higher than expected. This lead to a hit on the overall untappd review score, and to customer satisfaction. Overall, it was still one of the most successful products in company history, and I am grateful for the opportunity to create such a wonderful product.