Brewers Association Logo Usage Policy

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Brewers who have won awards in the Great American Beer Festival competition or the World Beer Cup have had very clear rules delineated in the licensing agreement that each brewery signs as a participant. In a nutshell, these rules require entering brewery name, entered beer name, category name, year of award, type of award.

We’ve been getting a few more requests by allied trade members and brewery members to use the logo on websites and even on packaging. In the past we approved the use of a “Proud Member Logo” and emailed the file to the company for use for the the purpose requested as long as the membership remained active. Earlier in 2013, staff evaluated the availability of logo use for members and developed two new formats for requests going forward.

The first of these formats is a Brewers Association logo with the word “MEMBER” spelled out underneath. This format is only for use of voting member breweries of the association. The second format is a Brewers Association logo with the words “ASSOCIATE MEMBER” spelled out underneath. This format is for the use of non-voting-member breweries, allied trade members, distributor members and retailer members.

I was asked in a media communication if logo usage is an indication of whether a company is a craft brewer. The answer is that the logo in these formats implies membership in the Brewers Association and not whether a company is craft or not. The Brewers Association has voting members who do not meet the criteria of the craft brewer definition for inclusion in the craft data set. There are also member companies who meet the craft brewer definition, but are not voting members. Logo usage approval is not a “craft seal” or an endorsement of a company.

To the question of whether we are actively promoting logo usage approvals, the answer is not really. We expect to periodically let members know that the usage is available, but have no expectation that we will be advocating for brewers to adopt the logo.

Business members may request a logo usage approval by sending an email to Membership Coordinator Jessica O’Leary-Brennan. Please spell out the specific use for which the approval is requested. In general the rules are:

1. The membership is current.

2. The usage does not show endorsement by the Brewers Association.

3. The usage is clearly for a “beery” purpose that is a positive message. The associated usage and message should not reflect poorly on responsible enjoyment of beer or be critical of another industry member. It should generally meet the same protocols we moderate the BA Forum with.

4. Logo usage may be revoked at any time should the Brewers Association develop a different set of policies.

If approved, Jessica will send out the file.

Paul Gatza

June 6, 2013