While I am a part time brewer, I am a full-time graphic artist. Half of what I enjoy about this hobby is naming the beers and designing labels for them.
Click on each label to see a larger version!
36th Birthday Maibock
Birthday Maibock is brewed annually on New Year's Eve, ghetto lagered in the garage for 8+ weeks, and tapped in time for my March 12 birthday. In '09, this beer was kicked entirely too quickly during my 35th birthday party, so in 2010 -- No party! I tend to enjoy this year's vintage.
Going forward, I will use the maibock label to commemorate the most special thing that has happened to me during the previous year. This year it was the birth of my beautiful daughter, and this is her being able to witness her first of many brew days!
3 Phils Belgian-style Quad
This beer was heavily inspired by Ommegang's incredible Three Philosophers and a baseball team's incredible rise to the top of the world.
Ryan Howard, Brad Lidge (the perfect '08 Lidge, NOT the '09 one), and Chase Utley are my 3 Phils of choice for this label.
California Dreamin' Ale
An original American creation, California Common Ales are fermented with lager yeast at ale temperatures. I brewed this in December for a little blast of summer. Graphically, I love the retro "endless summer" look... Not a whole lot more to add, so....
Facts: Cali Common was nicknamed "steam beer" because it was cooled on San Francisco rooftops in the days before refrigeration. Anchor Brewing trademarked "Steam Beer™", thus "California Common" was coined.
Cascade Crush Pale Ale
A pale ale made with a dash of Centennial hops and a ton of Cascades, this label conveys the fact that this beer is packed with hops.
This is my tribute to the Troeg's Nugget Nectar label... It's actually my stylized hand holding a bunch of freshly harvested Cascade Hops. I wanted to produce a real life version of Troeg's fantastic vector art.
Regarding this label, our buddy Ed said, "That's so much like my dreams, it's scary." Jay gave it a "Totally super awesome!", followed shortly by an "AYYYYYYYE, matey!", which made this my most gaily commented on label ever!
CHAMP10N Brown Bear Ale
Cheers to the Hershey Bears, who brought home their 10th Calder Cup in 2009. I know I've got a long way to go to match their success, but I'll take my first blue ribbon anyday.
Formerly "Deez Nutz" Nut Brown Ale, "CHAMP10N" is now dressed as smooth as it drinks!
Ryan's Chocolate Orange Stout
It is known for its singularity and unusual marketing - usually at its heaviest around Christmas - Terry's Chocolate Orange is a ball of chocolate mixed with orange oil, divided into 20 "segments", and wrapped in orange-coloured foil.
As the segments, when packaged, are stuck together firmly, the traditional method of getting ready to eat them is to whack it severely on a hard surface to cause the segments to separate from each other. My label is a direct reproduction of Terry's classic packaging.
Continuing Dubbel Dachs long tradition of unusual Christmas beers, Ryan's Chocolate Orange Stout aims to bring the appeal of the British chocolate orange to the palate of discriminating beer drinkers stateside. Available in 22 oz. bottles just before Christmas 2009 (if I like you).
Vanilla Latte Stout
My buddy Ed approached Jay and I about making a beer for a friend's wedding. After much debate and beers, we decided on a "lady-friendly" variation of my Founder's Breakfast Stout clone. We lost the bitter dark chocolate, changed the coffee to a smoother blend, and added Madagascar vanilla bean.
I've never met Rob & Mary, but I hope that they and their guests enjoy this beer. I only had a pint, and thought it was really good. Here's the beer, on the road to Pittsburgh!
Dach-toberfest
These two beers from Dubbel Dachs are my Oktoberfest offerings. I wanted to do a fall series similar to the Beermerica Series, but I needed more time to organize. Look for my Autumnfest Beers in 2010.
The Beermerica Series
These three beers from Dubbel Dachs celebrated freedom. Freedom to drink refreshing summertime beers. I pulled off a red, white and blue theme, albeit reversed, with these beers.
Hoof Hearted IPA
Hoof Hearted is a clone of Bell's Two-Hearted Ale. It came out pretty darn close too. The name came from Keith Jones' '07-'08 fantasy hockey team (say it fast) and the horse is the retarded horse from Family Guy. "He's so creepy... why doesn't it do something?"
Coffee Stout
Went with a sort of '30s-style big screen font on this one because it felt right with the brown theme. Gold, brown, coffee... It all felt right. That's actually about all I have to say about this one. Oh, and there's an appropriate Flogging Molly lyric on the label as well - from "Black Friday Rule".
Bière des Gardiens
I have always wanted to combine my two hobbies - playing hockey and brewing beer. I was approached by Merx, one of my teammates, to brew a winter beer. I felt that a bière de garde was a solid, but different choice. Being a French/Belgian style, the name lent itself to a hockey theme quite nicely. "Bière des Gardiens" means "beer of the goalies" in French.
Since I am a diehard Flyer fan, enshrining the great Bernie Parent, my idol Ron Hextall, and the late Pelle Lindbergh was a no-brainer.
However, because I'm a good guy, I made Red Wing themed labels, featuring Terry Sawchuk, Dominick Hasek, and Chris Osgood for his half of the batch. Red caps for his case, black for mine!
Dubbel XL
Dubbel XL was my 40th batch of homebrew that I made. In addition to forties all over the place and the Roman Numeral significance of the XL, a ruby/gemstone look is featured. Ruby is the standard gift for 40 years of whatever.
Drunken Punkin Pumpkin Ale
Yeah, this pumpkin looks quite hammered. Sitting there all wrecked in his pumpkin patch. And with an imperial pumpkin ale behind him, who can blame him?
Orange Honey Hefeweizen
Still my favorite beer to date, and a mainstay in the future. Several elements were combined to create an awesome retro-summer label.
Deez Nutz Nut Brown Ale
I have wanted to use the infamously well-endowed internet squirrel on a label forever, and a nut brown ale presented the perfect opportunity. There's no mistaking the alpha squirrel when you grab this bottle. Nut up, and enjoy!!!
Skara Brae Scottish Ale
Skara Brae was the archaeological settlement in Scotland found to contain the first evidence of beer. And the name sounds cool. So I went with it and used a map of the settlement in the background of this label. Insert obligatory Scottish plaid as well! Look closely - "If it ain't Scottish, it's crap!"
Love Stout
Brewed for Valentine's Day 2007, this chocolate raspberry stout went over really well. The label came out so well that my grandma asked to have a bottle to display at her house. Knowing she would never drink it, I filled a bottle with Diet Coke for her to display. Greedy, I know!
Matrimoni-ale Saison
This label was designed for the 15 gallons (6 cases) of homebrewed saison I gave away at our wedding. As the label states, we were married at a revamped farmhouse in the spring so the style was very appropriate. I did a lot of graphic design elements for the wedding, but this of course, was my pet project.
Devil's Night Pumpkin Ale
This beer was brewed on Devil's Night/Mischief Night in 2007 with several people invited over to partake. Torches were lit, drinks were consumed, and mischief ran rampant. And yes, the font on the label is from the Harry Potter movies.
Drunken Fat Man
This was my 2nd Christmas Ale, a Tröeg's Mad Elf clone. Turned out great. This was one of my most involved labels, as all of the elements were drawn by me. This beer was so strong that the label is a wonderful representation of what you might look like afterwards. I added gift tags with jingle bells to the 22 oz bottles to make this one memorable.
Hærfest Spiced Apple Ale
Another really cool name, I think... "Hærfest" means "harvest" in Old English. Great beer and a great label, another that was a conglomeration of different images.
Chocolate Banana Porter
Definitely one of my favorite labels, this continues the vector graphics kick that I have always been on. Most of what I do is taking stock graphics and combine them, redrawing when I need to.
Naughty & Spiced
Still probably my favorite name for a beer... Too bad it was overpowered with ginger. Too naughty. Anyway, this was my first Christmas beer, so I wanted ot make it festive.
Maple Porter
This was my 2nd brew ever, and the first one worth drinking. Needless to say that back then, the labels were 100 times better than the beer.
