Other Half Brewing November 2017

It's what is on the inside that counts! I actually like the labels, but if they were stickers written in crayon, I would still buy them because the beer inside is amazing.

OH labels are pedestrian at best, and I find it hard to believe people actually think the vegetable line of cans/schwag are remotely artistic and interesting.

So long as the beer in the flaming mr. hanky cans is solid, that is what matters to most of us. Personally, Coming in Hot looks like the best beer of the week and has the best label.

 

I think Grimm is an obvious outlier, as it's a brewery started by artists. Like the beer, the cans/bottles are always understated and sophisticated. Greenpoint design doesn't have the same degree of character, but they are handsome cans and always tasteful.

I agree with everyone above that recent OH designs have been wanting. Highballers On Death Mtn and these Wangies cans being notable duds, and though the beer was maybe the year's best, the All Infinity design looks like it was made in WordArt. That said, Green Power and Space Dream/Daydream looked fabulous.

 

I got so much shit for making fun of Equilibriums labels in their thread. The beer is fantastic, I'll be the first to say it, so at what point is their "business" gonna play catch up and realize its time to work on something that actually needs fixing? The label for their new Answer collab looks like a 13 year old who just discovered graffiti decided to mess around in MS paint.

 

I liked the Zamboni label....

 

Sometimes I'm drinking a beer that tastes terrible so I pour it into a can with nice art and it tastes great.

 

Joke post? LIC is easily the worst

 

I think it's fine on the cans, but those broccoli hats were god awful.

 

No, I am not joking. What exactly is terrible about the beers I listed?

 

Surprised Hudson Valley hasn't come up yet. Their label art has been interesting and identifiable. Other than OG Broccolli the veg series was/is all meh

 

I don't know about being the worst, but I agree they are not good. If I hadn't heard about them through this forum I'm not sure I'd pick their beer off the shelf.

 

Well never mind the fact they stole Basquiat art for Pile of Crowns but have you seen the logo/font for Wildstyle? Laughably cheesy. All the faux-graf art is beyond terrible. It’s like some middle aged guys sat around and literally said “how do we show that we’re from New York? graffiti!” It’s like next level bad.

 

They don't have many, but Rushing Duck has really good labels.

As far as Equilibrium, I think the oval labels play a big part in detracting from their appearance. The cans don't see distribution and as long as people are lining up with the beer selling out in a day what motivation should they have to change what they are doing?

 

It takes no effort to find a better graphic designer in these parts. I'd even bet there are great ones on this board that would design labels for the fun of it if they are allowed to cut to the front of the line.

 

Two things regarding the Basquiat "theft". 1) A major part of the art they used was actually from Keith Haring's "A Pile of Crowns, for Jean-Michel Basquiat", who himself was obviously influenced by Basquiat's frequently used crown. Did Haring "steal" Basquiat's crown for this purpose? Or is it an homage? And if Haring can use it as an homage, I really see no reason that LIC Beer Project can't either. They certainly didn't try to hid the origins given that they named the beer after the artwork, and never tried to pass it off as their own unique artwork. So what's the big deal? I do believe they received a cease-and-desist from Basquiat's estate (or perhaps Haring's?), but that doesn't take away from it being a cool design. This brings me to point 2) where they changed the design to the crying lion, which, again, is a cool design (at least I think so).

Regarding the new Wildstyle can, it's clear they are going for mix of Maurice Sendak's "Where The Wild Things Are" stylized with NYC graffiti. Somewhat of an odd mix, for sure, but it's entertaining and unique nevertheless, and I see nothing egregious about the design. Same goes for Triple Candy, which obviously has a Wonka thing going on. It's fun.

 

Hard to believe CAN art is now being debated..could be a plain white can with Beer written in crayon,with the "r" reversed and i could give 2 shits as long as the beer is good..this is what it's come to? people need to get a life or find something else to talk about..SMFH

 

It works for Kane.


And it's 29 pages, we have exhausted most other topics this month.

 

I still think original Hop Showers is my favorite label/can ever. Beautiful.

It's Marketing 101. A fun label will sell a beer even if the juice speaks for itself. If all beers had generic labels I'm willing to bet the trade market wouldn't be nowhere as hot as it is. People love beer don't get me wrong, but plenty just as much love shiny new cans with lots of pretty colors, funny names, pop culture references, etc.

Personally speaking, I'll find redeeming qualities about any beer that references Back to the Future just because.

 

Lol I think we've found the one aspect of beer more subjective than taste that we can debate and project onto an objective scale. Very few beer labels mentioned in this thread qualify as anything remotely bordering on "art," but the quality of their designs is obviously totally subject to individual opinion. It's rather pointless to debate the quality of a particular design, but it is worth noting that breweries make decisions to allocate funds/resources based on the business they're looking to cultivate. I would not--for one moment--think that a brewery like Equilibrium has invested even a fraction of the resources that a brewery like OH (who pays a creative agency to develop their brand) has for their labels, but both are doing quite well... So to each their own! Other Half may feel they need the help of Small Stuff to grow&thrive while Equilibrium may feel their bare-bones labels aren't make-or-break for the business. Either way, unless you're basing your purchasing decision based on your affinity/aversion for the packaging, does it really matter???

 

We're near the end of the month and we've exhausted all other topics. What did you expect? We've only got about 5 days left until the "reset button" is pressed and we discuss issues that really matter, such as allotments, #linelyfe/hazebois, NJ/LI hate, peak aging for OH beers, how lactose is ruining everything, etc. etc.

And more to the point, I work at an ad agency, and so design in general is actually important to me. Weird that I should "get a life" when the discussion here is an interdigitation between my career and my hobby.

 

Career and hobby has nothing to do with the product inside the can which is what is relevant..not the packaging..IMO..pretty sad if design is important to you..there are a lot of other things more important than can art.