Which brewery needs to change their packaging and labeling

And, ya know, I always wonder why their beers expire on the shelf around here when they're so amazing and the other day I thought to myself the same thing: gotta be the cheesy hop dude on the labels.

 

Hallelujah. And, even if they don't want to do sixers, I don't know how it is in Ohio but I literally have never seen their beer on draft anywhere. Their product was available in Florida when I lived there and still never saw a single Hoppin Frog beer available on draft anywhere. My point is, if you're gonna charge that much for your beer and have it strictly be in bombers (with lame mirror image labels no less and with no freshness date which really irks me), at least make your kegs available so that maybe I can try some small pours of your beers. That way, when I see your single IPA going for $9.99/22 oz I might actually shell out the dough since I have some idea of what to expect. Yeah I'd say Hoppin Frog takes the cake on packaging failure.

 

At $30+ a bottle standard pricing, the label could be gold plated and have the most beautiful, intricately designed carvings etched in them and people would still pass on it. They're a great example of how it doesn't matter what the labels look like since what's in the bottle is always phenomenal.

 

Even in Akron you don't see much on draft. If you do you'll be paying $10 for a 12oz pour of that same IPA. I'd bet that's why you don't see kegs anywhere.

 

Yep, I actually talked to a guy who used to do the buying for a renowned beer bar here in town and asked him about it. He said he's definitely seen kegs show up on the buying catalog (or whatever it's called), though not very frequently and he never bought them. He hasn't done the buying for a while so he's not totally sure, but he's pretty sure it was because of the price. It's sad because I know they make great beer but they make it so inaccessible due to prices, format, lack of freshness dates on the bottle, zero representation from the distributor, etc. Any brewery who thinks that they can just throw their beer on the shelf featuring boring lookalike labels while charging a premium for it and that the beer will somehow sell itself is just asinine.

 

Stone – Depressingly doomy, depressingly nineties. Ugly typography.
Brewdog – The latest lot of labels lack impact.
Brooklyn – Iconic but yawn.

 

Every brewery should include allergen labeling.

 

They seem to be doing well somehow. They must make enough at the brewpub, and somehow from people buying the bombers at stores to be making a profit. I just don't understand the lack of 6 packs, I'm not sure if I've ever seen that. I would gladly pay $11 for a sixer sometime, just put it out! You're not getting any of my money, and I'm sure other people's money with only having bombers that are overpriced. I also agree with the labels, they all look the same. I have to look closely at the name to figure out what the hell it is.

 

Great Lakes.

 

I agree it doesn't matter. Still doesn't change the fact they have terribly bland labels.

 

They literally just changed their labels.

 

Frog sells a surprisingly large amount of beer to Europe. And there are a few places in Ohio that regularly have them on draft. Plus the brewpub is pretty busy fairly frequently. Ultimately they do things to a certain standard with no expense spared, due to a certain level meticulousness, stubbornness and other less glowing terms that are basically meant to describe that they want the job done well, consistently. I doubt it will ever change, not for lack of attempts at convincing.

There are countless, renowned breweries that don't do 6-packs. Either way, and I said this earlier, they pretty much individually hand-bottle everything. Until they get a new line (for which they would probably need more space), the Hoppin' Frog bomber format will never change.

 

Er, which ones specifically? I think Stone actually has done a really excellent job in the last few years of dialing in their packaging - easily one of the best in the business.

I'm also surprised at all the hate for Troegs - I love their new look. It feels much more grown-up and classy than their old stuff, but more importantly, it has much more consistency across their beers. Few things irk me more as a former graphic designer than a family of products that look like they're from different companies.

My two biggest dislikes (Hoppin Frog and Lagunitas) have been mentioned a bunch, but not too far behind is Bear Republic. I love the content of the bottles, but their design looks like all the worst parts of 90s graphic design vomited out into one sad, neon-flecked mess.

 

What don't you like about their labels? I like the individuality in their labels that is lacking in alot of these template or graphic designer can labels out there nowadays.

 

How did I forget about these guys? Yes, yes, yes. Everytime I see their stuff in the store, I cringe a little.

 

I'll also say Troegs. They had a hit with the Hop Knife label, but for some reason decided to use that artist to redo EVERYTHING. Now the labels are too basic, and look like they were done by a kid in junior high. Unfortunately the simplistic artwork impacted the Troegenator, and presumably the Mad Elf (hasn't been released with new label yet), characters as well. They look like some lame infant cartoon characters now. Don't even get me started on the askew guitar pick either. I also preferred the old bottle caps to the new, boring bottle caps as well. In the end it's all a matter of taste, and the Trogner brothers went with their preference.

 

Russian River labels are generally good, but ditch the Comic Sans fonts.

 

I feel like it really represents their style, though. Ever been to their tasting room? Very vintage and funky.

 

I liked the old New Belgium labels better than the current ones.

 

Wait -- Boulevard has their own Design Department for packaging and labeling? That's it, I'm packin' my portfolio and movin' to K.C!