Comments on: LABELMANIA II: THE DULL, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY! http://aleheads.com/2011/04/14/labelmania-ii-the-dull-the-bad-and-the-ugly/ They're ALL Session Beers Fri, 03 May 2013 18:08:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: rightinthe http://aleheads.com/2011/04/14/labelmania-ii-the-dull-the-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-15815 Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:33:18 +0000 http://aleheads.com/?p=8665#comment-15815 “I suspect you would NOT enjoy my latest homebrew which has a picture of Christopher Walken picking his teeth with a celery stalk on the label. I call it my “Walken Stalkin’ Stout”. I brew it with celery salt and a cold, hard pocket-watch.”

This is great! Ahaha….where’s the pic?
That would definitely stick out on the shelf…hopefully in a good way.

]]> By: THE BEST BEER LABELS « ALEHEADS http://aleheads.com/2011/04/14/labelmania-ii-the-dull-the-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-9763 Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:00:46 +0000 http://aleheads.com/?p=8665#comment-9763 [...] talked about some of the best breweries when it comes to label design…and some of the worst. But we haven’t spent much time singling out the best individual labels on the market. That [...]

]]> By: 17/24 Stonehammer Dark Ale (Beerfest 2011 Edition) | Booze Bros Light http://aleheads.com/2011/04/14/labelmania-ii-the-dull-the-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-8277 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 04:13:02 +0000 http://aleheads.com/?p=8665#comment-8277 [...] mean… there is even a whole website dedicated to ugly beer labels HERE, and many of the labels displayed there are better than [...]

]]> By: Barley McHops http://aleheads.com/2011/04/14/labelmania-ii-the-dull-the-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-7880 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 02:29:13 +0000 http://aleheads.com/?p=8665#comment-7880 Soychicka…you’re certainly not alone in finding fault with my “worst beer labels” post. I’m clearly not a designer and don’t have a designer’s eye. These selections were based on my gut reactions to the labels I see in package stores. While I generally choose new beers based on the reputation of the brewery and the style of the beer, a pretty bottle can certainly be the x-factor in getting me to purchase a brew. My “categories” in this post are admittedly misleading. As a number of people pointed out, it’s hypocritical to complain that one brewery is repetitive and boring while another is wildly inconsistent. I should have just ignored the categories altogether and just explained that these breweries simply don’t do a good job showcasing the great products inside the bottles. The beer is the most important thing, and in that regard, these breweries all do a helluva job.

I suspect you would NOT enjoy my latest homebrew which has a picture of Christopher Walken picking his teeth with a celery stalk on the label. I call it my “Walken Stalkin’ Stout”. I brew it with celery salt and a cold, hard pocket-watch.

]]> By: soychicka http://aleheads.com/2011/04/14/labelmania-ii-the-dull-the-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-7879 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:59:13 +0000 http://aleheads.com/?p=8665#comment-7879 *Sorry, that should have read ‘no beer can wash away those heebie-jeebies’

]]> By: soychicka http://aleheads.com/2011/04/14/labelmania-ii-the-dull-the-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-7878 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:57:37 +0000 http://aleheads.com/?p=8665#comment-7878 I’m a designer as well, and although I agree that many of the brews on this page are nowhere near as well-branded/well-designed as their counterparts on the previous Labelmania post. Out of fairness, though, I do have to point out that displaying the labels out of context doesn’t really make for a fair comparison – in some cases, variation in label composition may be borne out a bit better by the presence of a consistent neckband, the color of the bottle, or just the inherent ‘whitespace’ provided by the bottle itself. Inconsistent design might make more sense when the brewer knows their bottles won’t be displayed side-by-side – it’s a question if they’re marketing the beer or the brand.

In any case, Russian River usually does pretty well with branding, at least on their taps. Perhaps someone on staff knew that Comic Sans is the font choice of K-5 teachers and tried to make a play for some misguided classroom metaphor to highlight the ‘Younger’. But really, this beer is too brilliant for that kind of treatment – leave the irony to the PBR drinking hipsters.

Even though I view the world through a designer’s eye, I’d prefer an unimaginative label any day… actually, I’ll even prefer a horribly designed label*, so long as it’s attached to a fantastic brew.

* so long as the label features neither celery nor Christopher Walken, because no matter how brilliant, one beer cannot wash away the heebie-jeebies.

]]> By: MCNEILL’S BREWERY SUNSHINE IPA FROM BRATTLEBORO, VT « Aleheads http://aleheads.com/2011/04/14/labelmania-ii-the-dull-the-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-7220 Wed, 11 May 2011 20:51:18 +0000 http://aleheads.com/?p=8665#comment-7220 [...] time I see it, and luckily because Svetlana got it in a growler I didn’t have to look at the atrocious label on [...]

]]> By: Barley McHops http://aleheads.com/2011/04/14/labelmania-ii-the-dull-the-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-6701 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 21:13:13 +0000 http://aleheads.com/?p=8665#comment-6701 Huzzah! Someone that actually knows about this shit agrees with me (sort of)! I feel vindicated (sort of)!

Great points, Doc Orlando. Considering how many out-of-work graphic designers I know right now, I suspect that an up-and-coming brewery could acquire a freelancer for peanuts. In response to J’s earlier point, in a way I think it’s cool that Tony Magee and Rich Norgrove do the label art for Lagunitas and Bear Republic respectively. It’s their vision and they certainly have the right to dictate the branding. But everyone can’t be great at everything. Tony and Rich are clearly fabulous brewers…I just think they could use the services of someone like Doc Orlando and his ilk when it comes to marketing.

]]> By: DocOrlando http://aleheads.com/2011/04/14/labelmania-ii-the-dull-the-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-6700 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 21:06:20 +0000 http://aleheads.com/?p=8665#comment-6700 I’m a graphic designer and a craft beer lover. These two qualities are rarely mutually exclusive. Creative types love to drink. Small (read: local distribution) craft brewers might be wise to cultivate relationships with a local designer or two to solicit ideas, or to perhaps barter – that’s right, barter! – for advice or art.

Bigger brewers – most on this list, and Bell’s and Rogue in particular – have no excuse. If you’re putting your best work IN those bottles, you should be putting equally praiseworthy work ON them (or what kind of box they’re wrapped in).

Judging a book by its cover is completely in practice here; plenty of people are going to form their initial opinion based on their reaction to packaging. Amateur, obfuscatory or just plain eye-bugging art isn’t the way to do it.

]]> By: Barley McHops http://aleheads.com/2011/04/14/labelmania-ii-the-dull-the-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-6699 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 21:01:08 +0000 http://aleheads.com/?p=8665#comment-6699 Thanks, J. I knew #1…Maier is obviously a legend in the craft beer world. Didn’t know #2 or #3 though…thanks for those chestnuts.

Doesn’t change my opinion of their labels, but I think it sheds some light on a key aspect of why these breweries might not have the best “marketing”. When you’re a small craft brewer and you have to do everything from bottling to quality control to balancing the books to label design, you can’t really afford a professional graphic designer.

Truthfully, I don’t care if Lagunitas just writes the names of their offerings with a Sharpie on the bottles…I’m still going to drink everything they make. The only reason I want them to have nicer labels is so that newbies who have no idea which beer to buy at a well-stocked package store will gravitate towards their offerings. Honestly, if I hated a brewery, I really wouldn’t care what their labels looked like. The breweries on this list are ones I happen to like a lot. I want them to put more effort into marketing so that they can stay competitive in an increasingly over-crowded industry.

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