Homebrewing Art - Beer Labels

For some of us, homebrewing offers many outlets that allow creative expression to shine through.  There is the culinary art of crafting a great beer at home to make your taste buds smile.  There is the analytical art of designing a recipe to meet parameters of a particular style (such as the BJCP style guidelines).  But the creative muse doesn't stop just at the beer itself.  Logos, labels, and beer names offer creative options only limited by the imagination.

Over the past decade, there has been enough interest in homebrew beer labels that Brew Your Own (BYO) Magazine hosts an annual contest for the artwork that adorns homebrewed beer.  This year, the 2010 competition (entry deadline: May 1st, 2010) marks the 15th year of that contest.  The contest attracts hundreds of entries and commercial sponsorship from BYO's advertisers.  Pictures of past winning labels can be found here:  2009, 2008, and 2007.

But these contests are not just limited to BYO, as other smaller competitions are hosted by local fairs, homebrewing clubs, and even breweries themselves.  A sample of other homebrewing label contests include:

• San Mateo County Fair
• Alameda County Fair
• Kentucky State Fair
• The Schooner Homebrew Championship
• Squatters Pub Brewery

The creativity of the label designers is boundless.  When looking through collections of labels, it quickly becomes apparent that the "best" labels can come from any medium, not just those with created by expensive computer graphic programs.  Some of the best examples can be communicated to audiences through pencil sketches and drawings.

With all that being said, Jeff and I here at Lug Wrench Brewing love a good laugh as it appeals to our sophomoric senses of humor.  So in keeping with that theme, here is a selection of some of our favorites homebrew beer labels:

Cranky Wife Tonic - Ryan Lockard


 

Holy Habanero Hot Pepper Pale Ale - Michael Thompson


 

Cross Czech - David Levesque


 

Hopzilla's Revenge - Stiller


 

Old Master Belgian Dubbel - Sean McCauley


 

Trail Rash Ale - Papa Homebrew


 

Baby Got Bock - Katie Kregal

For those interested in entering the 2010 BYO label contest, more information can be found here.

Cheers,

TW