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Earlier this month I wagged my finger Colbert style at a label from Smuttynose. Now I want to Tip my hat to this well designed label from Tool.
I like the alliteration of snow and saison. The images force you to look at them twice. The logo is clear and visible. It all comes together. It has a Jones Soda look to it. Retro but modern.
Occasionally, (especially for beers that I haven’t yet tasted) a label is just so weird or weirdly great that I have to talk about whats on the package instead of what’s inside. Such is the case for Cellar Rat.
First things first, I am not a rat or mouse hater or frightened victim. But due to paying attention in history class, I have learned my fair share about the rat’s role in disease spreading in the olden days.
Which leads me to label # 1
Aside from the old but iconic hammer and sickle, it is the color of red that really makes this not work for me. The color doesn’t automatically take me to thoughts of the devil. But the combined rat, USSR and color do. Plus it looks more possum-y to me. The font for the name is evocative without being too cutesy though.
What a vibrant green. And boy how it conjures disease. Especially in tandem with the swirly, hypnotic design on the possum, I mean rat, belly. I feel like this is one of those labels that would catch my eye, then immediately lose it.
They have a distinct brand and I certainly hope the beer is good. Maybe the rats will become the next Stone Brewing devil. But for now, it isn’t my pint of beer. And the motto of “Infest You” should go to.
Every twice in awhile, I like to get a little nitpicky about labels. Why? Because there are indeed times when a label is the deciding factor between two unknown beers. Same for tap handles too, by the way.
So first, take a look at this label…
I like the color and the spareness of the label. It is very stark. And upon looking at other bottles in their line it sticks to the brand already established while also being separate from the rest. I like the sash across the top left as well. And the “message” on the far left is legible and nicely worded which some labels should emulate.
I am on the fence about the font. This is a Florida beer with a Louisiana tinge to the name and the modern font doesn’t quite match those two states of mind, as it were.
What I don’t like and what puts this label into negative territory for me is the logo. It matches the font but it goes way to arty for me and not modern but more shapes thrown together.
What do you think? Yea or nay?
(I still want to try their beer though, check out their offerings HERE)
Label Art is subjective. I generally side with the less is more school. I think the Bruery does a great job with their style choices. I like the distinctive B of Brooklyn Brewery. Just two examples off the top of my head.
In my interwebs beer travels, I come across other labels and wonder what the heck is going on? So intermittently, I will post up some labels and make my snarky comments then let the readers take over, if the muse of commenting strikes.
Here is the Craft Beer label discussion – Animal Edition
First up is Bitter American from 21st Amendment
I get the whole monkey and space thing. But I can’t quite make the leap from Bitter American to outer space. I am sure there is an explanation but I can’t imagine that it is a simple one. Plus the monkey looks damn old. It looks like the same artist did Fireside Chat and that also looked a little off. Makes you look at it twice. Maybe that was the aim.
Our second label is from Captured by Porches with Cuddly Panda Porter
I like the bright color palette that CbP uses. But the traditional bird morphed into a bear strikes me as off. Seems a little shoe-horned to me. As in trying to stick with a theme (birds) when maybe a little more change like just a bear drawing would have worked better.
That’s my cockeyed opinion. What say you?
I have had a couple beers from these fine brewers and I welcome any pilsner into the house. Anything to buck the “big” beer trend. Should make for an excellent hot summer day brew.
Beer labels are artwork in my opinion and this one from Southern Tier is even better than their Christmas Krampus…
It is for a new pale ale from the New York brewery that they dedicate to “… our farmer friends of today for cultivating the ingredients the are responsible for the beers we now enjoy. Their laborious days spent ourdoors under the hot sun earn them respect, as well as a mark of distinction: the farmer’s tan. Yes, the inevitable red and white hallmark of hard work.”