Comic-Con Worthy Beers
Comic-Con is upon us once again and San Diego is being invaded by zombies, knights and heroes alike. We have put together a list of breweries that like Comic-Con, combine fantasy, bold illustrations, science fiction and compelling stories. Highlighting their bottle and can art with bright colors, eerie characters, and labels will make you take a second look, these breweries could easily find a place at Comic-Con.
Wiseacre Brewing Co.
Wiseacre’s year-round beers have the beer’s name displayed boldly at the forefront of the can, but take a closer look and you will see the details of patterns and characters in the background. Wise Acre’s seasonal specialty cans tell a story. The Psychedelic Pilgrim is adorned with horns and carries a cornucopia with a unicorn and rocket ship flying alongside, it’s a scene Eric Forman might have hung in his basement.
Ska Brewing
Elsewhere in the world forces were conspiring to conglomerize and corporatize all of beerdom. Wheels were in motion to turn what was once an art mastered by those attracted to the science of handys, into a mechanized mire of swill so sullen it zombifies all who drink it. The black clouds of an evil empire were gathering, with one singular, maniacal mission – take total control and destroy the craft of brewing forever. Little did our heroes know that it would be up to them to save us all and make the world safe for good tasty beer once more…
Ska’s theme is quite literally, a comic. Their interactive website allows you to view the heroes and villains in the story behind the beer scene and creation of Ska. The main villain in this story is Pin Stripe aka Chief of Conglomeration, a skeleton dressed in a pinstripe suit. The heroes are none other than the co-founders of Ska, Dave Thibodeau, and Bill Graham. All of their cans bare a similar old school comic vibe, race stripes, and bold thick lines.
The Garage Series beers, Monday Night’s extremely limited funky, sour, and/or barrel-aged projects are depicted with art that can be described as Peter Rabbit meets Brer Rabbit’s shenanigans. Family Reunion, a Saison aged in white wine barrels displays a Family reunion of rabbits, donkeys, and mice. They share laughs, cake, cheese, and drinks. Who knows why the jackalope is mounted in their dining room, perhaps a family enemy.
The Lost Abbey
The Lost Abbey presents their art and story at the forefront of their beers. The Lost Abbey was imagined as part of a crusade in this ongoing story of Good vs. Evil beer. In developing a portfolio of beers paying homage to Monastic Brewing traditions, we felt it was important to integrate some classic images into our logo and artwork.
The man behind the art is Sean Dominguez. Sean and Tomme Arthur, Co-Founder, work closely to tell the story of their beer with deliberate and honest artwork. On occasion, the art is created before the beer. One of the great aspects of The Lost Abbey is they tell a wonderful story. It would be a disservice to yourself and the beer to not read the backstory. Although condensed, their labels have a story. Their website dives deeper into the aspects of creating the art and story, giving you a deeper meaning behind the scenes depicted.
Witches Wit is one of their more controversial labels, as it features a witch being burned at the stake. I became more fixated on the guilt of the crowd. There would surely have been people (the faceless souls) who could have/ would have wanted to help. There also would have been some righteous people smug with satisfaction knowing another “witch” leaving their world.
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Childlike, cartoonish, bold, colorful art defines Mikkeller’s brand. It evokes a carefree and fun attitude that translates to Mikkeller’s beer. Although Mikkeller has it’s beginnings in Denmark, their artist, Keith Shore, is from Philadelphia. Keith is given absolute freedom on their label designs. He is told the flavor profile behind the beer and is entrusted to depict it in his art.
Pipeworks Brewing Co.
All of Pipework’s labels are colorful, creative and crazy. Their cans range from a Ninja Cat slicing a hop in half to a ninja fighting a unicorn. Their bottled beers display their brewers in compromising situations with aliens. Abducted while drinking coffee and a surprise visit from an alien while in the bathtub are among the amusing scenes. They also have a line of beers that feature bright colored cartoon fish dubbed with stoner eyes. To say that Pipework’s labels are wild is an understatement. You’ll have to check them out for yourself
Once upon a time, a brewery was created in Loveland, Colorado. The inspiration for this brewery is drawn from the famous Grimm brothers and the stories they spun. Grimm Bros Brew House dedicates itself to perfecting the ancient styles and crafting of modern German and European beer. These beer styles go hand in hand with the old world Grimm brothers tales. The art on their labels depicts those stories.
The Blood Orange Griffin: Once upon a time, a young man was sent by the king to retrieve the rarest of things, the feather from The Griffin’s tail. Like that rare object, our Griffin is worthy of a great quest. The magical combination of wheat, barley, and a special yeast makes this unfiltered wheat beer a quaff of lore.
Gigantic Brewing Company
Aside from beer, art, music, and media are at the forefront of Gigantic Brewing Co. Their 70s Anime/Manga style robots are the inspiration behind their logo and a number of their labels. Gigantic also creates a magazine that is available to download on their website. In their magazine, they highlight bands, artists, comics and give insight into the brewery. Gigantic has had three Japanese label artists that have created their lovable robots. Sip on a beer while reading through their magazine and call it a day.
Clown Shoes Beer
Heroes take the spotlight on Clown Shoes’ labels. Genghis Pecan, Tony the Emperor of the Equator, Josh the Guava King and their recurring hero, Miracle Mike save the day from “laser beam shooting pastries” or “devious almonds.” The fun, comedic style reflects their mission, to produce beer without pretension while being free and a little crazy. The art could easily be taken from the labels and placed into a comic strip.
If there isn’t a beer booth at Comic-Con already, Hoplight has a few suggestions for the future. Next time you pick out a beer, take a closer look at the label, breweries aren’t simply producing delicious beer, they’re also telling us a story.
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