Fairy Tale Labels From the Brothers Grimm

December 30, 2012 By Jay Brooks

Like most kids, I read (or had read to me) a lot of fables and fairy tales growing up. But a class I took in college on them reinvigorated my love of the genre, and I’ve continued to be a fan of fables ever since. Today, I have about two long shelves dedicated to collections of fairy tales from around the world, including the complete Brothers Grimm and an annotated volume of their more well-known tales. So I was excited to see the labels for the Grimm Brothers Brewhouse of Loveland, Colorado. The brewery opened in mid-2010 but somehow escaped my notice until recently. I don’t know if any of the brewery owners are brothers, or even named Grimm, but I’m guessing not, because their names are not readily available at the website or their Facebook page. But they’re certainly using the mythology of the Grimm stories to great effect in their beer names and especially the artwork, created by Ten Fold Collective, a local graphic design firm.

I just love the graphics for their labels. All of their packaging just looks amazing. I know that good packaging won’t mask a subpar beer for long, but it will enhance a good beer’s reputation and will help any beer stand out on increasingly crowded retail shelves. If their beer is only half as good as the packaging, it should be terrific. But it’s best to find out. Loveland is only about an hour north of Denver, on the way to Fort Collins. I definitely have to make a point to get out there during GABF week next year.

Here’s what the bottles look like, followed by close-ups of the labels themselves:
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Snow Drop Honey Wheat Ale

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Fearless Youth Dunkel Lager

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Little Red Cap Alt Style Ale

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Master Thief German Porter

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The Griffin Hefeweizen Ale

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The Farmer’s Daughter Oktoberfest Lager

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And these labels are part of their “Fabled Series.”

The Count Imperial Stout

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Big Bad Wolf Sticke Alt Ale

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Sooty Brother Gratzer Ale

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Weihnachts Bier Weizenbock Ale

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Mirror Mirror Imperial Kottbusser Ale

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Hare’s Bride Hefeweizen Ale

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And this is a special release they did for Valentine’s Day earlier this year.

Bleeding Heart Cherry Chocolate Porter

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Mockingbird Beer Bottles

December 27, 2012 By Jay Brooks

Sam Wiley, a Brooklyn-based designer and advertising artist who’s done work for Anheuser-Busch, was asked to create packaging for a brand to be called “Mocking Bird Lager” and “Mockingbird Pilsner.” I don’t know if these were done for ABI – she doesn’t say — and as far as I know, no one has launched this line of beer, so it’s anybody’s guess, but it’s a great looking design. I don’t like clear glass because it’s not good for the beer, but from a purely design point-of-view she used the clear glass and the gold of the liquid to nice effect. I like that they don’t look like typical beer bottle designs and I think as the market gets more crowded, any brand’s ability to stand out on the shelf will become increasingly important.

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Vintage Beer Sweaters

December 26, 2012 By Jay Brooks

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Christmas, of course, is the time when ugly sweaters are not only finally acceptable, but at this time of year they’re downright mandatory. Happily artist AJ Fosik began collecting and rescuing some beer-themed ugly sweaters. According to Trend Hunter, “Fosik says that all of these knits were ‘rescued from moldy basements, plucked from dingy backwaters and ripped from the backs of greasy shitleopards.'” Below, for example, is one from his collection, from Olympia Beer.

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And here’s another one, for Carling Black Label.

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Unfortunately, Fosik no longer maintains his Flickr gallery, where the sweater collection originally lived, but luckily the collection went viral and it still lives in that series of tubes we call the interwebs. You can see his art at the Jonathan Levine Gallery and the David B. Smith Gallery. Below is a slideshow of my Flickr gallery where I think I found most, if not all, of Fosik’s collected beer sweaters, and I even added a few others that I found along the way. To see them in their full color, full size glory, view the galley full screen by clicking the button with four arrows on it. Enjoy.

UPDATE 12.30: I just heard from an online store, Brew Town Gear, that has several of the vintage beer sweaters for sale, along with some similar satin jackets. They also have a brick and mortar store in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Stock up now for next Christmas.

UPDATE 11:11:14: Brew Town Gear is apparently now Bar Closet, and has expanded its selection and now carries “even more interesting vintage items.”

Ice Plus Beer

December 25, 2012 By Jay Brooks

kirin
I tend to view the concept of ice plus beer with horror, but apparently in Japan it’s “so cool.” That’s at least the opinion of Kirin, whose uncharacteristically low-tech commercial make the case for its coolness. The verdict? The ad: pretty cool. Ice plus beer: not cool.

The Science of Beer Goggles

December 20, 2012 By Jay Brooks

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Hmm, not sure how to think about this one. It’s kinda fun, and occasionally funny, but it also goes a little bit too far when it tackles the “bag over her face” issue, although it does offer advice for both women and men. The infographic was created by freedating.co.uk, an online dating website in Great Britain, so it was probably meant to be somewhat tongue in cheek.

There is actually some science behind the concept of beer goggles, and a couple of years ago I wrote about the Math Behind Beer Goggles. The infographic does also include some of that, too, at least.

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You can see this chart larger at Love Infographics.

Yule Shoot Your Eye Out

December 19, 2012 By Jay Brooks

This is just priceless. Eric Warner’s new brewery in Texas, Karbach Brewing, has named their new seasonal beer for one of the greatest holiday movies ever made, A Christmas Story. The 8% a.b.v. seasonal was made with ginger, cocoa nibs, orange peel, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon, and has one of the best beer names I’ve heard in quite some time: Yule Shoot Your Eye Out.

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There’s also a promotional video for the beer.

But wait, there’s more. There’s also a second Christmas beer that was inspired by A Christmas Story, this one slightly more subtle. It’s calle Fra Gee Lay — must be Italian! — an ale brewed with spices and aged in Bourbon barrels. It’s essentially the Yule Shoot Your Eye Out barrel-aged, and there’s another video.

Hilarious. Now if I can only figure out how to get the beer. Maybe if I hold up the brewery with my Red Ryder BB Gun.

Pretentious Beer Glasses

December 18, 2012 By Jay Brooks

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These are some of the most unusual and inventive beer glasses I’ve run across for some time now. They’re hand made, mouth-blown glasses by a Matthew Cummings of Louisville, Kentucky and are available through his Etsy store, Pretentious Beer Glasses. You just know that many people will call his efforts pretentious so I love the fact that he decided to just own it and called his company by that name. He only opened for business earlier this month. Below are the five regular glasses that he makes (but for more photos, and to see them larger, visit him at Etsy):

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From left to right: The Hoppy Beer Glass, Ale Glass, Subtle Beer Glass, Malty Beer Glass and the Aromatic Beer Glass.

Each glass is designed for a different range of beers, and you can probably work out what beers go in which glasses by their names.

Below are the same glasses, but filled with beer.
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Here’s a breakdown of each glass:

The Hoppy Beer Glass

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The Hoppy Beer Glass description:

This handmade beer glass is designed to highlight hoppy beers, such as IPAs APAs and also light Belgians. The tulip shape is a favorite glass style of high end beer vendors because of its versatility and enhancement of complicated beers. This tulip is engraved with four dashes on the sides, one for your thumb, and three for your fingers. I make each glass by hand in the hotshop (glass studio) and carve the finger grips on the glass the old fashioned way…lathe cutting. Same process that crystal companies use for their cut crystal glassware, only I leave the glass with a nice satin finish instead of polishing it, which provides better grip. Each glass is 5″ tall and 3.5″ wide, holding 12 oz of liquid with a 1-2 oz head (remember, dimensions will vary slightly as each glass is made by hand).

The Hoppy glass is also available with two types of hand grips, dashes and finger prints.

The Ale Glass

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The Ale Glass description:

This might be the most versatile glass of the set. It is a variation on a typical pint glass that highlights most ales, lighter beers, and hefeweizens. This is an extremely popular glass design for a reason, and I didn’t see any need for drastic alteration to it’s form. But I had to make it mine (as far as design goes), so I went graffiti on it. Take a recognized format, bomb it, and make it your own. Hence the ‘stache. Dimensions are 6.25″ tall and 3.25″ wide (remember, dimensions will vary slightly as each glass is made by hand).

The Subtle Beer Glass

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The Subtle Beer Glass description:

This handmade beer glass is designed to highlight any lighter flavored beer, Lager, Pilsner, Kolsch, etc. The glass is in the traditional format for the style, a tall, narrow cylindrical shape. Yet it possesses a wonderfully “softened” bottom made by indenting the hot glass with newspaper pads while it is being blown. The “softened” bottom is not only ergonomic, but it reveals all the different hues of each beer by presenting the liquid in different densities. Dimensions are approximately 6.75″ tall by 2.5″ wide and holds a 12 oz. pour with 2-3 oz. of head (remember, dimensions will vary slightly as each glass is made by hand).

The Malty Beer Glass

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The Malty Beer Glass description:

This handmade beer glass is meant to highlight just about any beer with distinct notes of malt…including Stouts, and Porters. The glass is also wonderful for any unfiltered beer. The point coming out of the bottom of the glass allows the sediment to cascade to the outer edge of the bottom. While the lowest “waist” keeps the sedimentation at the bottom and out of your teeth! The glass is about 6″ tall and 3.5″ wide, and holds a 12oz. pour with significant head (remember these are handmade and dimensions will vary slightly).

The Aromatic Beer Glass

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The Aromatic Beer Glass description:

This glass is designed to highlight any aromatic beer and or high ABV beer. Obviously reminiscent of the snifter or full bodied red wine glass, it concentrates the volatiles and aromatics of the beer to properly enhance the experience. The main design element is an abstract mountain pushed into the bottom of the glass. As you drink the beverage, the mountain is slowly revealed, emerging from the dark liquid. Dimensions are 4″ tall and 4″ wide, holding 12 oz (remember, dimensions will vary slightly as each glass is made by hand).

In addition, Cummings has one more glass in his store, The Dual, which is an ideal glass for mixing beers:

The Dual Beer Glass

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The Dual Beer Glass description:

This is the first specialty glass released by the Pretentious Beer Glass Company. It is a cylindrical beer glass with two separate chambers inside that combine into one towards the lip. I first began working on this design after having a bartender incorrectly pour a Half and Half, blending the two beers together. This glass is not just the solution to the problem of using a jig to properly pour those types of beers, but it allows you to mix any two beers, even ones that have similar viscosities. A wonderful secondary benefit to this glass is that you can smell the bouquet of both beers simultaneously, where normally you only smell the beer that settles on top. Dimensions vary more on this glass than the others due to production techniques, and are approximately 5-6″ tall and 3″ wide, holding 10-12 oz.

The glasses are a little pricey, but not when you consider that they’re made by hand and are utterly unique. It will be interesting to see how they work. I’ve ordered a set of five, although they won’t make it here by Christmas, and I should point out that you won’t be able to get them for a gift this year since he’s been flooded with orders and is currently sold out.

To see many more photos, and larger ones, visit Matthew Cummings’ Etsy store, Pretentious Beer Glasses.

Cage, Agraffe Or Muselet?

December 18, 2012 By Jay Brooks

muselet
Most of you already know I’m a freak for obscure words and language more generally, so I’ll always take a look at a list of curious words. One that I recently was looking over at Mental Floss included such gems as a dringle, which is “to waste time by being lazy,” perfectly describing what I was doing when I discovered that.

But the other word was agraffe, which they defined as being “the wire cage that keeps the cork in a bottle of champagne.” I’d heard the word muselet used before, usually in connection with champagne, but many brewers today also use them, though most people I know refer to them more simply as a “cage,” as in a “cage and cork,” or occasionally a “cage and crown.”
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But agraffe is a new one on me. A quick search reveals that it’s more often used to refer to a part of a piano, “a guide at the tuning-pin end of the string, screwed into the plate, with holes through which the strings pass.” Most dictionaries I looked at didn’t mention the cage usage at all. Champagne.net does offer this definition.

Literally means “staple” (as in Swingline); in Champagne, this is a large metal clip used to secure the cork before capsules were invented, typically during the second fermentation and aging in bottle. A bottle secured with this clip is said to be agrafé.

Notice they also spell it with only one “f.” Wordnik, in their listing under Century Dictionary does list this usage, as the fifth definition. “n. An iron fastening used to hold in place the cork of a bottle containing champagne or other effervescing wine during the final fermentation.”

Muselet doesn’t show up in most standard dictionaries either, but it is defined, at least, by Wikipedia:

A muselet is a wire cage that fits over the cork of a bottle of champagne, sparkling wine or beer to prevent the cork from emerging under the pressure of the carbonated contents. It derives its name from the French museler, to muzzle. The muselet often has a metal cap incorporated in the design which may show the drink maker’s emblem. They are normally covered by a metal foil envelope. Muselets are also known as wirehoods or Champagne wires.

Neither word is included in the “Dictionary of Beer & Brewing” (2nd ed.), but then “cage” isn’t listed in it, either.

So does anybody know? Those of you in the wine world, is either term in common usage, and, if so, is one preferred over the other? Or are they generally only used in France, perhaps? It seems more likely that they were originally borrowed from the French into English, but have since fallen out of use, or perhaps their usage lingers only in the technical jargon of Champagne and sparking wine. Anyone, anyone? Bueller.

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Ommegang To Brew “Game Of Thrones” Beer

December 17, 2012 By Jay Brooks

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In case you missed the news, the New York Times Art Beat is reporting that Ommegang will be creating four beers for the popular HBO series Game of Thrones, based on the A SOng of Ice and Fire books by George R.R. Martin. According to Coming Soon: The Beer of Kings:

The first beer, Iron Throne Blonde Ale, will be inaugurated nationwide in late March, to coincide with the Season 3 premiere of “Game of Thrones,” which is scheduled for March 31. Three more beers are planned, with the second to be released next fall. The others will follow in subsequent seasons.

I’m a fan of the show, and my wife and several relatives have read all the books, but this is certainly some odd marketing. If the goal is to make more people watch the show, I can’t see how this will have any effect. If you already like the show, will you seek out the beer just because of the tie-in? I like the beer that Brewery Ommegang makes, but apart from some press and attention, I can’t see how this will help the brand all that much.

Note: These are not the actual labels that Ommegang will create, but some imagined ones that have been floating around the internet since earlier this year, this collection from Geek Tyrant.

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UPDATE 12.18: Ommegang brewmaster Phil Leinhart revealed some additional details about the upcoming Game of Thrones beers in an interview on Guyism. Here’s what he had to say:

[T]he blonde ale is fair in color and soft in appearance, but still holds a complexity and bite.
“With a Lannister currently on the throne, it only made sense to do a delicate, but piercing Golden Blonde Ale with Noble hops,” he said, referring to one of the series’ characters.
Subsequent beers for the collaboration are still being worked on, because the Ommegang team has to wait for the themes and characters to develop in the series’ next season before it can begin crafting the next ale. Capozza said that two additional beers will be released in conjunction with each of the series’ following seasons

And there’s also more about the project came about:

Allison Capozza, a spokeswoman at Ommegang, said that the Game of Thrones creators and producers have long been fans of Brewery Ommegang, whose team happens to enjoy the TV series. HBO, she said, reached out to the brewery about the idea for a collaboration.
“The producers very much resonated with Ommegang’s blend of ‘old world’ and ‘new world’ elements to create something new and unique,” Capozza said.

And below is the official bottle that Ommegang will release next year.

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