My latest CBC column, which aired on April 16, appeared on line today (there can sometimes be a bit of a delay). It was inspired by our recent Medicine Hat trip, where along the highway I kept seeing these over-sized Big Rock cans. No, they weren’t litter. They were advertising. Stacks of hay bales wrapped in plastic designed to look like Big Rock’s beer cans.

Bloody brilliant idea! Noticeable (who wouldn’t notice a can of beer designed for Fezzik), not too intrusive and VERY effective at reminding drivers that Big Rock is Alberta beer.

That got me thinking about how the little guys get their name out there. The big breweries have millions in marketing money to launch TV ad wars against each other and mislead young men that drinking their brand makes them more attractive to women (trust me, no beer – no matter how good – makes someone seem more attractive… really, many before you have tried without success.)

What do you do when you are a craft brewer trying to entice people to try your beer? Well, I didn’t know, so I called a few breweries, including Alley Kat, Big Rock and Wild Rose and asked them. Their answers were fascinating (I thought).

I distilled their answers into my last column, which you can listen to here.