Hop, Drop ‘N Roll’s minimalist can design tells you what to expect from that first sip. The touch of yellow alludes to citrus, and the sleek classic car suggests a smooth body. That subtle artistry sets NoDa’s cans apart, and also reflects the brewery’s origins in the bohemian enclave of NoDa, in Charlotte, N.C.
If you’re a fan of the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, the blues-rock band formed by Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson, you know that Anchor’s Brotherhood Steam Beer can is a new experience for Captain Nebula, the “intrepid interspace gnome” who appears on CRB artwork.
For Jester King’s “creative czar” Josh Cockrell, it started with the peach, the base of the beer. When he learned that peaches originated in China, he dug into the country’s folklore and discovered the tale of “The Shared Peach.” A man shares a peach with his same-sex lover, wanting him to share in its beauty.
How a label that one East End employee described as “SpongeBob on acid” made it past the feds seems to stump everyone involved in Illustration Ale, a beer created to to showcase local artists and benefit the ToonSeum, a museum of cartoon arts in Pittsburgh.
Mad Bruin, Lustrum and, of course, Belle Royale Sour Cherry Wild Ale, are just a few of Driftwood’s sour labels featuring some fierce fliers inked by artist Margaret Hanson. The latter was designed to pay homage to the Parisian artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
No Half Acre label looks quite like another. In the story of the StickyFat bear, the slightly dopey, lethargic beast waits for the season’s hops to swell with their sweet, sticky oils, before he plods in and eats his fill.
Lana Lovibond, the blond heroine of the comic book that Ska Brewing Company created when it launched 19 years ago, stars in the Vernal Minthe can design, appearing as the Greek goddess Persephone.
This playful, hand-drawn world is one of dozens that label artist Colin has created for Prairie Artisan Ales, a young Oklahoman brewery with a prolific and highly acclaimed lineup.
When Lindsay and Andrew Nations were building the look of their Shreveport, La., brewery, Great Raft, they didn’t have to look much further than the art hanging on their own walls for inspiration: the hand-drawn, lithographic style in the music posters created by Tennessee artist Justin Helton.
Done in acrylic, the series of paintings employs the classical glaze technique, using multiple layers of both paint and shellac. The result is a sharp, photo-like painting of a brightly illuminated glass of beer that almost seems to be glowing.
The hand-drawn diagram of a futuristic weapon may look inconsequential at first. But it all goes back to Backpocket brewer Jacob Simmons’ PhD in microbiology. Each Lab Series label offers a glimpse into the brewery’s beer lab with each recipe printed right on the label.
Together with brewery owners Kristen and Jeremy Kozik, designer Josh Emrich did research in the public library to find imagery from the Aztec and Mayan cultures, the inspiration for this beer.
When Utah-based Epic Brewing signed a lease on a warehouse in Denver’s River North arts district, they were eager to integrate themselves into the community. Which is why David Cole, co-founder of Epic, went on the hunt for the artist behind the landmark mural a block from their new brewery.
Chris Ray and his brother Phil parted ways with their former careers and opened Center of the Universe in November 2012. Knowing that a beer means more to consumers if it comes with a great story, they wanted to put theirs right on the can: Chris was a Major League Baseball pitcher and Phil was a NASA engineer.
The anthropomorphic terrapins on Terrapin’s labels aren’t a rip-off of Grateful Dead imagery; artist Richard Biffle actually designed album covers and merch for the Grateful Dead, the Dead, Jeff Beck, Santana and The Black Crowes, among others.
The can design for Midnight Ryeder has garnered a great deal of attention since it was released in October 2012. Did someone hack into Teddy Roosevelt’s private self-portrait collection? Did Yellowstone Park plan on hosting a Steampunk festival that never got off the ground?
Christian Helms and Jakob McKean started with 14 different concepts for the can design, inspired by vintage packaging McKean had collected. Then they brought in typographer Simon Walker to create the logotype. What they ended up with was simple, yet striking.
When Florida’s Cigar City Brewing and Michigan’s B. Nektar Meadery decided to brew a s’mores-inspired Braggot, the label concept was quick to follow. The bears represent the ingredients in a loose sense—bears love honey, and they’re roasting marshmallows.
On No-Li’s labels, the sleek layout is the framework, but the illustration is the heart of the design: highly figurative, graphic images that convey a message about what the beer represents.
Chef Justin White and owner Phil McFarland of Small Bar in Chicago collaborated with Michigan’s Greenbush Brewing Co. on Mr. Hyde, a Cream Stout made with Sumatran coffee beans.
Tim Leanse and Sam Rowell, of Noble Union Imports, are combining their multifarious jobs to create Alchemic Ale, a series that pairs beers with original artwork. Each beer in the series is released in earthenware, 750-millileter bottles screenprinted with an artist’s work.
