Debbie Downer Dunkelweizen by Spiteful Brewing

For Spiteful Brewing, the names of their beers come before the imagery. Which, when you examine the label of their Debbie Downer Dunkelweizen, is pretty apparent.

“I created the artwork based off of, in my mind, one of the biggest downers you might encounter: the cops,” explains the label’s artist, Luke Snobeck, whose hand-drawn mustachioed officer is surrounded by floating aviator sunglasses and donuts, either mocking him or just occupying his simple mind.

“We have all had that feeling with cops,” says Jason Klein, Spiteful Brewing’s co-founder. “It is not to say cops are bad. It is just supposed to reflect getting pulled over for a traffic violation or receiving a parking ticket.”

Spiteful, a small brewery in Chicago, is run by a couple of really nice guys who really hate certain things.

“Spiteful was inspired by how Brad and I are with our group of friends,” Klein explains. “We all get along, but there is a lot of ball-breaking that goes on. We are nice people overall, but if you wrong us, that can change very quickly.”

Among the triggers of their wrath have been trouble-making pigeons, a guy named Colin and texting-pedestrians, a mutual source of rage between Snobeck and Spiteful’s other co-founder, Brad Schaffer—the two met bike messengering four years ago. When Schaffer and Klein decided to start a brewery (Spiteful opened in December 2012), they tapped Snobeck, who holds a BFA in painting, to design some labels; now he also coordinates and lays out all of Spiteful’s labels, each one created by someone who knows the brewers personally.

“Instead of being known for that one distinct look, [the brewery] can be known for having many different creative labels, each unique and specific to Spiteful in their own way,” Snobeck says.

“We had an idea of incorporating a ‘spiteful’ theme in all the labels,” says Klein, “but the artists have really helped developed the brand based on how they interpret the names of our beers.”

Having already opined about Communists, and with the takedown of potholes checked off, it’s impossible to predict what unsuspecting group will be pilloried next. We’d just steer clear of Snobeck while he’s at work on Negative Nancy … ■