Kamp’s goal is to brew beer that's stylistically correct, well balanced and quaffable. Evil Horse’s core brands are its Trot Hopple (IPA), Downtown Hottie (American wheat), Sgt. Reckless (APA) and Paxon the Ponyless (Porter). Many of the beers sport names that are horse related, in part because of Crete’s close proximity to Balmoral Park, a horse racing facility that operated from 1926 to 2015, and now operates as HITS – a show jumping facility. Evil Horse operates with a 15-barrel system in a former bowling alley. With the goal from the beginning to be self-distributing, the brewery has a tasting room where only its own brews can be sold. Nods to the building’s former life can be seen in the bar top and tables that are repurposed bowling lanes, and the original Crete Lanes neon sign. Being a small brewery in a small town has its challenges. While budget restrictions make creative marketing essential, Evil Horse Brewing Company is a firm believer in having a solid, consistent branding strategy and marketing plan. We sat down with Kamp to get his thoughts on where the craft brew market is heading and why Evil Horse will continue to help lead the way:
Give us a snapshot of today's craft brew market from your perspective. The way I see it, today’s craft brew market is trending more toward smaller breweries that are locally owned and independent. The larger brands seem to be stagnating somewhat, while the smaller brands seem to be growing at a faster pace. Consumers are jumping on board with the whole locally sourced movement, wanting to know not only where their beer comes from, but who makes it and where the ingredients are sourced. As there has been, and continues to be a large number of new breweries coming
on the scene with regularity, I think that those brands that create a quality product and market themselves in a relational way with a solid brand story will rise to the top. Those that don’t will eventually trickle off.
What trends are defining the space? Well, again, I think it’s smaller, independent breweries. I think the trend is a market where consumers are far more educated now than they were 10 years ago. They understand the difference between a mega brewery-owned “crafty” beer and a locally owned craft beer. Consumers are more knowledgeable about what goes into making beer – not only the ingredients, but the time and talent it takes to make different styles of beer. The Brewers Association independent craft brewer seal is going to be very important to the
industry going forward, and will help consumers to differentiate between mega breweries and independent breweries much more easily.
What is the Evil Horse story from a brand perspective? The heart and soul of our Evil Horse brand is attitude, and I don’t mean that in an obnoxious way. It’s about the perseverance needed to conquer challenges, the pride we take in crafting the best beer possible, the passion to share our beer with the world, and the drive to make it all happen. Our brand isn’t something that was created on a whim. The story actually goes back almost two decades to when I bought a farm in the country near Beecher, Illinois. I owned an Appaloosa that was stubborn as could be and refused to be ridden by anyone except occasionally me. The horse came
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