Written By Lisa Breslin
Beer and food will be the main attractions on September 25 when hundreds of homebrew and microbrew enthusiasts gather for the Fourth Annual Maryland Microbrewery Festival at Union Mills Homestead in Westminster.
But another aspect of the brewers’ art will also be on display at the festival: beer bottle labels; certainly the most flamboyant collection of product identifiers in Maryland and possibly on the East Coast.
On the Saturday of the event, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., festivalgoers will not only be able to sample a variety of beers and eat heartily, they will also be exposed to a panoply of labels competing for their attention.
Elaborately designed, attention-grabbing labels are part of a deliberate marketing push by “boutique” brewers to sell more product; in turn, the contest has inspired artists to create labels that customers describe as “beautiful,” “shocking,” “lightning hot,” and “powerful.”
The colorful, often irreverent labels herald beer names that are equally eye popping: Dogtoberfest, Hop-Ocalypse, Twisted Kilt Scotch Ale, Loose Cannon American Hop3Ale, and Doggie Style Classic.
“Fans wait for certain labels to debut,” said Melinda Byrd, a homebrewer and local artist with Byrdcall Studios. “Some labels have a status all their own. Whenever a new label comes out, people clamor to own the corresponding t-shirt.”
Byrd designed a custom label for Windsor House 80 Shilling Amber Ale, a beer created by Westminster resident Steve Kranz and produced by Westminster-based Dog Brewing Co., after Kranz’s amber ale took top honors at last year’s Maryland Microbrewery Festival.
“I love the label; it’s hand-drawn and it has heart and brain,” said Kranz, who, like Byrd, is a member of The Midnight Homebrewers’ League, a homebrew club based in Westminster. “Fuggles, my dog, is commemorated as a gargoyle on the label, and the plaid gives a nod to the fact that it is a Scottish ale.”
Most beer labels shed light on the brew’s ingredient, specifically the type of yeast, explained Neil Mezebish, president of Midnight Homebrewers.
“Nomenclature is linked to specific yeasts, hops or grains used in the brewing process,” said Mezebish. “That nomenclature – terms like lager, ale, pilsner, stout – hone in on what a drinker can expect.”
The rest of the labels’ artistry expresses sheer attitude, which often determines which stout, ale, or pilsner makes it off the shelf.
With beers like Peg Leg Imperial Stout, Small Craft Warning, Red Sky at Night, and Winter Storm, Baltimore’s Clipper City Brewing Co., LP, launched new beer labels that herald a nautical theme with what Hugh Sisson, the company’s founder, general partner and co-host with Al Spoler of WYPR’s “Cellar Notes,” describes as “a swashbuckling attitude.”
Flying Dog Brewery, which ships more than 500,000 cases of beer a year from its Frederick, Maryland location, took beer label creativity to new heights with the “rebel artistry” of Ralph Steadman. Steadmans’ fans describe his labels as “irreverent,” and “brilliant works of art.”
Steadman, according to the brewery’s promotional materials, “had a long partnership with the American journalist Hunter S. Thompson, drawing pictures for several of his articles and books.” In addition, Steadman has illustrated editions of Alice In Wonderland, Treasure Island and Animal Farm.
When it comes to beer, labels are “all about adventure,” said Sisson, “Pushing the envelope. We absolutely believe in the power of packaging to influence the consumer’s purchasing decision.”
For further information about the festival and microbrewing: www.unionmills.org or home.comcast.net/~midnighthomebrewers/
