Beer Label Review

I do not like dark, coffee IPAs. I have never visited Ireland, where apparently some of the best beer in the world flows freely from the tap. I can hardly differentiate a beer on draft from one in a bottle. However, I do know good design. Milton Glaser, the 87-year-old graphic-design legend, who created the I ♥ NY logo stated, “…most of design, in general, is the creation of affection.” How do you create a beer bottle design that causes someone to drink a beer and associate the taste with the design?

Below are seven creative beer bottle designs to help persuade you when standing in front of twenty fridge doors at the packaging store deciding on whether to try something new. Get the beer with the fun label. You will be glad you did.

1. The Import – Cervecería Sagrada

This beer bottle captures Mexico’s colorful history. This design is almost like putting an illustration of Captain America on it. Lucha Libre Wresters are seen as folk heroes in comic books and movies with colorful personalities. http://www.joseguizar.com/cerveceria-sagrada.html

2. The Black Sheep – Left Hand Brewing Co. Nitro Milk Stout

From Longmont, Colorado, this adventurous, simple, and mysterious beer label is really just a type selection. Doing it in black and white makes individuals even question if it is truly a beer. That is the beauty of it – it sparks curiosity and there isn’t quite anything like it on the shelves. lefthandbrewing.com/beers/milk-stout-nitro/

3. The Warning Label – Emergency Drinking Beer

This is definitely one of my favorites. The color is a cautious yellow, it literally has the word “Emergency” in the name and it makes you want to stash one in your first aid kit – you know for an emergency refreshment. Upon first glance you don’t even know where the beer comes from, you just know that it must be consumed. http://wildheavencraftbeers.com/

4. The Stain Glass – Goldhawk Ale

What a memorable name with a memorable design. No type treatment, one color, and completely transparent. Be bold and drink a beer with a bold design. https://www.behance.net/gallery/26187455/Goldhawk-Ale

5. The Intrepid – Around the World Beer Fight

A travel aspiration on a six-pack budget, this beer design insures that you can truly drink from around the world. The design uses travel tags as the label with large letter to signify the location it comes from. It is almost as if you just got off a 10-hour flight just to savor this beer. https://www.behance.net/gallery/10745375/Around-the-World-Beer-Flight

6. The DIY – Sakiškių alus

Having to design something that looks amateur while actually knowing exactly what you are doing can be quite difficult. But this beer label creates a DIY appearance while still featuring a very distinguished font. When drinking this, you feel like a group of men and women bottled, sealed and stamped these in their garage and it’s 1 of 50 bottles. It is exclusive without being expensive. http://en.sakiskiualus.lt/

7. The Tyrion – St. Stefanus

Yes a Game of Thrones reference, but only because when you see this beer bottle, you see history. This bottle design is covered in tradition dating back to the Augustiin monks. In fact the font was inspired by songbooks found in the Augustijn’s monastery library. st-stefanus.com