Alternate Side by Third Rail

Most breweries don’t release their first packaged beer with a label depicting their hometown getting sucked into a void of nothingness. Then again, there are certain things people wouldn’t mind disappearing.

“I’m pretty sure [brewmaster] Loren [Taylor-Raymond] was thinking about New York street parking for the name of this one,” says artist Benjamin Wright Coleman. “I took a more abstract or maybe even sci-fi interpretation of the words ‘alternate side,’ like another universe or ‘the void.’”

In the image, a classic New York street corner—historic brownstone, sign-studded street lamp and all—is flying into a vacuum. “I think it gives a sense of weightlessness or being at the edge of some intense event,” says Coleman.

“We asked Benjamin to conjure up something that captured the feel of daily hustle and grind in NYC to represent Third Rail, with a darker side or twist,” says Taylor-Raymond of the gypsy brewery’s inaugural bottle release, an Imperial Stout brewed with guajillo and chipotle peppers and Mexican cinnamon.

“We wanted to convey our pride for NYC and all of its emerging neighborhoods and cultures,” continues Taylor-Raymond. “This beer has some conventional roasted malt and coffee flavors that kind of give way to rye spice, fruity chili flavors and sweet cinnamon unexpectedly. The notion of a traditional element giving way to an alternate way was exactly what we were going for.”

Taylor-Raymond carefully crafted the recipe—but when it came to the art, he simply plucked Coleman from behind the counter of their local coffee shop, Ost Café, based on his “noir-like remake of the ubiquitous ‘Choking Victim’ sign” hanging in the shop. Although Coleman says he doesn’t usually focus on architecture, the detailed window arches are Taylor-Raymond’s favorite element. “Each floor has a different pattern to emulate brick, and each floor has its own character,” he says. ■