Loch Ness Brewery, which is based in Drumnadrochit, 15 miles from Inverness, is on course for a record breaking year in 2016 expanding its UK and overseas business.
To celebrate, launch parties were held at Bow Bar, Edinburgh, State Bar, Glasgow and its home at the Benleva Hotel in Drumnadrochit, to unveil the bold new branding to members of the public andpress.
The brewery, which has recently scooped two prestigious CAMRA awards for its SaaziNESS beer and WilderNESS beer, also earlier in the year signed an exclusive deal with retail giant, Marks and Spencer (M&S).
Different varieties of Loch Ness Brewery beer can be found in pubs across the world, as the brewery now exports their beer on a global scale to countries including Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, Russia and the USA.
The brewery aims to increase its market share in the craft beer sector in 2016 across the UK and in the export market and has teamed up with designers earlier in the year to create a brand that they believe will help them achieve that.
Stephen Crossland, managing director of Loch Ness Brewery said: “We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who came along to our launch parties over the past month. They were a monster success.
“We felt it was the right time to align ourbranding with our growth. For as much as our original branding captured theessence of what we do, we feel by sharpening it and creating a distinctive,universal brand, it will help bolster our appeal to a wider market. We intend to be one of the top brands when it comes to craft beer and we feel this rebranding exercise will help take us one step closer.”
Matt Burns, creative director at Thirst, which is a marketing agency that specialises in the craft beer industry, worked with the team to create the new bold branding for Loch Ness Brewery.
He said: "With the brewery being positioned in one of the world's most iconic locations, it was important for the brand to leverage as much as its provenance as possible. Loch Ness' unmistakable monster, ‘Nessie’, is an asset that we wished to position at the forefront of the brand.
“However, the biggest challenge was to portray her in more of a contemporary and sophisticated manner, that didn't include the fluffy tartan hats or aggressive glaring teeth.
“It was important to also create a brandingsystem that has simple brand recognition for beer drinkers in a bar or retail environment. A simple, yet bold colour palette achieves this, whilst complimenting the minimalist stylised design."
