Bad beer labels that deter you from buying?

Yeah it has a kind of vintage look to it definitely. So I guess bad label art doesn't deter me but I will say that things like crooked labels and not printing dates does turn me off to a beer.

 

Speaking only for myself, mind you, but the "Aldus Pagemaker newbie" labels exemplified by a lot of survivors of the early 1990s MicroBOOM! are the tastiest part of the beer! Who needs "hip', cutting edge tattoo/comic book/Black Metal-inspired artwork when inept and insipid label designs are a mark of Quality -- am I right?

 

LOL. They are the biggest culprit of this by far. What a disaster. How terrible. But they do make good beer. However if they ever intend to grow their business outside of the "beer geek" niche, they will need to remedy this situation.

 

Weyerbacher makes some great beers but their art looks like they hired the dude who drew the 2nd Edition Monster Manual.

 

I'm not smart enough to understand all of it, but yeah, I think I like what you have to say.

 

You're welcome! But trust me: I've lost enough brain cels by now (concussions, highly-hopped bong resin) to know!

 

Quoted for truth.

 

Most of their beers are forgettable besides a select few. Their harvest series, to include Grapefruit harvest, are all pretty good in my opinion though. Had the grapefruit harvest about a week ago and it has a good grapefruit taste to it and I would recomend you try it.

 

How is it "Imperial" anything, at 7.5%? lol

 

Nah, I still buy Alpine all the time..........................

 

Three Floyds hype already extends beyond the beer geek niche. Their labels aren't going to change that one way or the other. It's still frustrating when I go to put a case of Dreadnaught on the shelf and half the labels are peeling or torn. A couple weeks ago there was one without any label at all. Still sold by the end of the day. If it were a bomber from (almost) any other brewery, customers wouldn't touch it.

And that's really the crux of the matter. Yes, there exist cult breweries that will sell no matter what. But most breweries need to appeal to the non- beer geek crowd to survive and grow. Attractive packaging may not be absolutely necessary to do so, but it sure makes it a lot easier.

 

It doesn't affect my decisions about whether to buy a beer, but as a retailer this issue is close to my heart; for instance, no matter how much I talk up Gigantic's delicious beers, it's like pulling teeth to get people to buy one, and I can't help but think the (usually) cartooni-esque labels are part of the reason, although I acknowledge that in many cases price might play a part, too.



Also, Big Al Brewing:

 

Just as a bad label may deter you from buying or trying an otherwise good beer, a cool or flashy label could deceive you into buying an inferior beer. Sometimes labels and names are just there to distract you from realizing what you are buying until it is too late--an overcompensation sort of thing. I'd rather have the brewery impress me with the quality of their beer than the wow factor of the label. Just my two cents.

 

I don't care what the label looks like. I rarely buy a beer on a whim or just because I haven't tried one before, I buy based on recommendation, or something I had in a bar on tap (where there is no label to be seen). So no, shitty art work doesn't deter me. If I've heard the beer is good, or I know the beer is good, I'll get it.

Given that - crap labels:

As previously stated - Darkhorse (yes, your labels suck)
Lagunitas - Lack any imagination
Flat 12 - I think they really must have gotten 4th graders to draw their labels
Perennial - I feel I'm buying some crappy wine from a Central Missouri vineyard, not a beer
Central Waters - the new labels BLOW
Fat Heads - Can't help but think of "Norm" when I look at the labels
Five Rabbits - hate the labels, don't like the beer
Pipeworks - What tortured soul creates these labels???
Begyle - Yeccccch
Lake Louie - Labels from the 1950's, not cool

 

ugh i know they suck haha