---
title: When it comes to craft beer, bad names are best
description: Craft beer roots against mass production and for authenticity. For consumers, negative branding reflects that.
---

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# [When it comes to craft beer, bad names are best](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/04142023-craft-beer)

 Written by [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) | Apr 14, 2023 5:32:13 PM

You’d assume customers gravitate toward products with aspirational names, but the opposite is true for craft beer.

A new study that analyzed data from beer review site Beer Advocate between 1996 and 2012 [found ](https://giesbusiness.illinois.edu/news/2023/04/03/strange-brew-why-negative-branding-is-fueling-the-craft-beer-industry)that when it comes to craft breweries — defined as making 6m barrels or less per year — beers with names that would typically elicit negative emotions have stronger consumer appeal.

#### **Uh, why?**

By 2012, Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors had gobbled up so many smaller brands that they controlled 90% of beer production, [per](https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/01/craft-beer-industry/550850/) *The Atlantic*.

Conversely, the craft beer movement — for both consumers and brewers — flew against mass production and was instead “steeped in authenticity,” University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor Olga Khessina told *The Hustle*.

- Khessina co-authored the study alongside J. Cameron Verhaal (Tulane University) and Stanislav D. Dobrev (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee).

And when brewers come out with offerings like Ugly Pug or I Hate My Boss Coffee Stout, those names reflect that independence — which Khessina’s research indicates may be even more important than how the beer tastes.

#### **Does this translate to other industries?**

There are wines and spirits with weird names — take [Cat Pee on a Gooseberry Bush Sauvignon Blanc](https://www.vivino.com/GB/en/coopers-creek-cats-pee-on-a-gooseberry-bush-sauvignon-blanc/w/1142858) or Dirty Water Distillery’s [Bog Monster](https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/dirty+water+distil+bog+monster+cranberry+gin+massachusetts+usa/1/usa-ca-y) gin — but Khessina said it’s not as common.

Those craft movements started later and have yet to reach the same scale as beer.

#### **What about cannabis…**

… where strains have names like “unicorn poop” or “grandpa’s breath”?

Sure, because both have ideologies in opposition to something, Khessina said. For craft beer, it’s mass production; cannabis remains federally illegal.

“Strong oppositional identity demands authenticity in expression and behavior and encourages rebellious (i.e., counter-normative) attitudes and actions with which negative naming of products strongly resonates,” Khessina said.

Hear that, rebels? Enjoy your Ill-Tempered Gnomes and Geriatric Hipster Clubs this weekend. For nondrinkers, there’s always [Liquid Death](https://thehustle.co/10062022-liquid-death/), the canned water brand that grew its revenue by 4,000%+ by branding itself like a craft beer.

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/04142023-craft-beer)

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