Shaping your brewery's brand voice, from menu boards to Instagram

Voice is how you sound when the founder is not in the room

Every brewpub has two voices, planned or not. One is the founder, who can explain the Hefeweizen to anyone at the bar. The other is everything written down: the menu board, the tap list, the Instagram caption, the WhatsApp reply to a table booking. Guests meet the second voice far more often than the first.

Brand voice is the way a brewery puts its values and personality into words, the same way on every channel. Plenty of breweries stop once the logo is done and never get to the words. An account posting four times a week writes more than 200 captions a year before anyone counts a menu line or a WhatsApp reply. If nobody decides how those should sound, each one sounds like whoever wrote it.

Start from three to five traits you can prove

Voice sits on top of personality, so settle that first. Picture the brewery as a person: young or old, working class or high-brow, loud or quiet. List every trait that fits, then cut to 3 to 5. Any more and the words stop pulling in one direction.

Test each trait. Is it true, with something in how you work that backs it up? Does it matter to the people drinking your beer? Would the brewpub across the road say exactly the same thing? "Quality ingredients" fails that last test in every city we know. "Unfussy" might pass if your bar staff really will pour a taster without a speech. Our guide to brand personality and touch points walks through the exercise in full.

Same voice, different volume on each channel

The medium shapes the message. A brewpub in Bengaluru or Pune usually writes for four places. Each has its own limits.

• Menu board. Read from 3 metres away by someone deciding in ten seconds. Style, ABV and one line of no more than 8 words.
• Tap list or printed menu. Room for 20 to 30 words a beer: what it tastes like, what it goes with, one human detail.
• Instagram caption. Only the first line shows before "more", so it carries the voice. Put the facts people need (timings, the new beer, the event) where they can find them.
• WhatsApp replies. The most personal channel, often handed to whoever is on shift. This is where voice slips first.

Write the board in English and add the regional language where your guests read it: Kannada in Bengaluru, Marathi in Pune or Mumbai, Telugu in Hyderabad. Translate the meaning, not the pun. Wordplay that works in English rarely survives in Marathi, so give the second language a plain, friendly line instead.

A one-page voice guide you can copy

Here is a short guide we wrote for an imaginary Pune brewpub whose traits are curious, unfussy and generous. Swap in your own traits and lines. Keep it to one page so it actually gets read.

• Do name the flavour in plain words: "Banana and clove from the yeast, with a dry finish." Do not stack adjectives: "Exquisite, artisanal, handcrafted wheat beer."
• Do say what changed: "New on tap: a 4.8% Pilsner we lagered for 5 weeks." Do not shout: "BIGGEST LAUNCH EVER!!! DON'T MISS OUT!!!"
• Do answer a booking like a person: "Done, a table for six at 8. We'll hold the corner one if it's free." Do not paste a template: "Dear Sir/Madam, your request has been noted."
• Do own a bad batch: "The stout is off the board this week. It picked up a buttery note in the tank, so we won't serve it." Do not go quiet or blame the weather.
• Do talk about food, music, brewing and the room. Do not write anything that pushes people to drink more, faster or cheaper.

India's advertising rules set the ceiling

Direct advertising of alcohol is restricted in India. States add their own rules on top, which changes what a brewery voice can safely say in public.

In practice we keep to a few habits. Talk about the place, the food, the people and the brewing, never about getting drunk. Never link beer with driving, sporting performance, health or success. Do not post discounts on alcohol or "unlimited" deals without checking your state's excise position first. Keep anyone who might be under the legal drinking age out of photos; that age differs by state. Paid promotion on Instagram also has to pass the platform's own alcohol rules.

Rules vary by state and change, so read our guide to alcohol advertising rules in India and check with a licensing consultant before you run anything that looks like an advert. A useful habit: read back your last 10 posts and ask whether an excise officer would see a brewery telling its story or a brewery selling drink.

Write it down before your fifth hire

Voice drifts as a brewery grows and new people start writing for it. In a brewpub that happens early: the second floor manager, the agency intern, the bartender who answers WhatsApp on Sundays. Each arrives with a voice of their own.

This week, collect 20 real pieces of your own copy: board lines, captions, menu descriptions and a few WhatsApp replies. Mark each one on voice or off. Rewrite the five worst using your one-page guide, then put the guide wherever staff write, such as the bar tablet, the shared drive and the WhatsApp Business quick replies. An outside reader with years in advertising will spot the off-voice lines you have stopped seeing. Start with those 20 lines today.

About the authors

Ankur Napa is a Master Brewer who also works in data and AI. Chatty Girija spent more than 30 years in advertising, hosts the Cheers Chatty Beer Podcast and teaches at Craft Beer School.

Common questions

What is the difference between brand personality and brand voice?

Personality is who your brewery is, written as 3 to 5 traits. Voice is how those traits sound in words on menus, posts and messages.

Should our brewery write in a regional language too?

Where your guests read it, yes. Add a plain line in Kannada, Marathi, Telugu or Hindi rather than translating English wordplay.

Can a brewery advertise beer on Instagram in India?

Direct alcohol advertising is restricted and state rules vary and change. Talk about the brewery, food and events, avoid offers that push drinking and check with a licensing consultant before any paid promotion.