Ohio brewers finding new marketing recipes

The growing popularity of microbreweries in Ohio is giving beermakers new opportunities for marketing their products - from holding special tastings to participating in local festivals.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports that there has been a recent surge in the number of beer festivals hosted every year, as more consumers start drinking craft beers, boosting brewers' profiles and profits.

Apart from giving the microbreweries more exposure, the festivals offer opportunities for the companies to get experimental.

"There's no better format than a festival to try new things and that’s especially true for a newcomer," Craig Johnson, the Big Joe Duskin Music Education Foundation's event director, told the newspaper. His group also runs the Columbus and Cincy Beerfests.

Paul Ruschmann and Maryanne Nasiatka, who run BeerFestivals.?org, told the news source that many organizers are staging additional events, and brand new festivals are popping up on an annual basis.

In December, Ohio lawmakers proposed a bill to waive a permit requirement that would force breweries to pay $3,906 if they wished to host tastings at their locations. The measure made a marketing ploy previously enjoyed mainly by wineries more accessible to micro-distilleries.