Best Typographic Beer Labels

AndrewSipe
5.Sep.2008 10.00pm
AndrewSipe's picture

I'm surprised this hasn't come up before, but typographically what are your favorite beer labels. There are so many hand scripted/lettered versions out there!

Personally, I like the Leinenkugel logo. [ http://www.leinie.com/av.html ]

and [ http://www.schneider-weisse.de ] The Schneider and Sohn's Shneider Wiesse logo

and not so much for taste, but for script skills:
[ http://budweiser.com/ ] the Budweiser logo:

Here's a nice one in Fakir from Typophile Joshua Lurie-Terrell.


That first one, Princles, is beautiful.


Beer labels are like Major League Sports logos. Anything originating pre-1980 is great.

To support a local example (maybe not so much for the type, but the overal label):



Littlest Lou 'say's make mine a Pabst'


Most typographic - has to be "Meta" beer from Ethiopia...

http://www.ethiopianrestaurant.com/meta_abo_brewery.html


Hmm, I'm not sure that Meta wins the most typographic beer prize, Si… I have two other contenders:

1. Schöfferhofer Weizen. Here is just the logo. But the label uses a nice orange background with nice engraved lines, etc. Aside from the German blackletter coolness, this beer has a picture of Peter Schöfferhofer on it. Mr. Schöfferhofer apparently worked with Gutenberg in Mainz, and then helped take over the business. The Schöfferhofer family was involved in printing and typography from the beginning, and this is their beer. How do you beat that?

2. Frankfurter. Schöfferhofer Weizen is brewed in Frankfurt am Main now, I believe. The Frankfurter beers comes from the other Frankfurt – Frankfurt an der Oder, which is on the German border with Poland. This beer doesn't use any of that traditional blackletter stuff, but rather Akira Kobayashi's Calcite.

Both of these images are from FontBlog.de


this beer label thread doesn't count?
http://typophile.com/node/3545


This label isn't that extraordinary, but the taste...


Paul, sorry bout that. I thought I did a thorough google search for previous threads but I missed that one. Course that was 4 years ago... let's consider this the follow-up.


Paul, this topic is always worth una mas! :-)

And any microfoundry looking for a visual identity would do
well to look at "Labels of Distinction" by Drate and Olejar.
(More on that in that other thread.)

hhp


I wish I had a photo of the inside of my local, it's brimming with some fantastic beer labels all over the walls and obviously some not so fantastic.

I found this on the web a while ago, made from beer labels

http://mazaika.tripod.com/grafika/dog_of_beer_big.jpg

I love the ligature on this

http://www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk/

and some more

http://www.eurobrews.com/wychwood.html


Out of curiosity, could anyone suggest some particularly BAD beer labels? Redesigning them could at least make for some fun practice work, maybe a challenge.


Out of curiosity, could anyone suggest some particularly BAD beer labels?

I can't stand the C-o spacing on Corona Extra bottles, for what that's worth.


"I’m surprised this hasn’t come up before..."

"this beer label thread doesn’t count? http://typophile.com/node/3545"

If dat treads 4 yrs old by now, it means we have a new generationette of beer drinking typophiles.

"Personally, I like the Leinenkugel logo."

Leinies' de defending champ, inside and out, 'n I ain't seen nor tasted nothin' that's gonna change a beer that's older than Bilbo, in this new thread.

Gimme a 2-4...and a brat to wash it down.

Cheers!


Here's one of the more original Gonzo inspired Brewery logos:


Was lecturing in Michigan and found this at least 8 years ago.

Edit: almost as funny as Arrogant Bastard Ale out of San Diego.
Michael


Michael,
That Bad Frog is my kind of stuff :-)

Gotta find some somewhere!

ChrisL


Chris

I think it is made in NY. They will not sell it here in central Virginia. Like I said I found it in Michigan. Sometimes when I am in Michigan I stay with an order of the Poor Sisters of St Clare of Saginaw. We are great friends and I have done work with them for many years, designing cards etc. It is always fun because I bring a different perspective to the cloister. After I had one in a pub and told them about it they went out and found it in one of the ABC stores and sent me a six pack. They think I am a hoot and I always accuse them of wreaking Catholic Havoc on the Community.

P.s. their ages are 56, 60, 75 and Bernadoni (the elder) turned 90 this year : )

Michael


Thanks Michael! I will Google them. If they don't sell it in Richmond, they won't sell it in Falls Church either :-)

I'll bet you bring a different perspective to the cloister! I am sure the Sisters enjoy your good company.

ChrisL


Hey Chris

I had to put this up. When I did this card for the Sisters they said that I should sell this to a distillery as a brand. The Sisters said it was a brand and a slogan that could be shouted after downing a pint!

Michael


LOL!!! it should read "in excess this day, Oh!" :-)

ChrisL


Very very creative. You got my giggle.

Michael


I love this one:

Here’s a cool one from Germany, a low budget beer in Times and Helvetica - quite clever actually:

But, being German, I’d never touch a brew with a non-blackletter label.


Günther, I can attest to the surprising ok taste of the cheap Helvetica/Times beer. Fortunately, since I haven't been naturalized, I'm free to enjoy both with- and without-blackletter-labelled beers ;-)


I love that Quilmes script, Günther!

ChrisL


Old Tuborg Export.
Maybe not good, but still really good.


Not much of a beer when it comes to its taste but the label is..

I love type!


I've always enjoyed Pilsner Urquell beer and label:

Here the wordmark isn't the best but I like the overall look (and it's made in my homeland!):

________
AL


Love and like the taste and looks of Rochefort ...


The brewery is located inside the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy, near the town of Rochefort, and has been brewing beer since 1595. There are approximately 15 monks resident at the monastery. As with all other trappist breweries, the beer is only sold in order to financially support the monastery and some other good causes. The monks will not increase production based on demand or profit motives, but only enough to support themselves, resulting in a fairly limited supply of beer availability.


Somewhat an alternate style but I like it. Native of Sweden of course. :) Thirsty?

I love type!


DAMN! It is frustrating to read this over lunch on a busy day, with only a V-8 in front of me.

Can someone send me a can of beer as an attachment?

powers


New Belgium, home of Fat Tire Amber. In Copperplate Bold, too!.


I love New Belgium, but their logo would be many times better if it was hand lettered or used a less common typeface. It only makes them look more run-of-the-mill.


I love New Belgium, but their logo would be many times better if it was hand lettered or used a less common typeface. It only makes them look more run-of-the-mill.

I'm on the East Coast, so I don't have access to New Belgium, but when I was in California, I had it a few times and really liked it. I also like the idea that they're a sustainable brewery and I think their logo should reflect that better. Copperplate doesn't scream "Earth Friendly" to me. Lundgren's above, does.


You're right, Stephen, but I really like the label because it uses a font I'd normally find pretty ho-hum in a very effective way.

I agree there are better reasons to like a label's type, but I thought I'd throw this one in the mix.


Soon enough hand-lettered will stop saying "eco-friendly" and "independent film" again. What comes around goes around.


But isn't it knee-jerk to execute earth friendly as hand lettered? I think at this point it's a bit cliche to pair eco-friendly and hand lettered fonts, or that "naive" style like (lundren's lager).


Tiff - Oh but you can hand letter in any style. Even to the point of it not looking hand lettered. What I meant was custom lettering rather than type.


Stephen I don't disagree with you at all. But, I was responding to Andrew.

But isn’t it knee-jerk to execute earth friendly as hand lettered?

That is what I was hinting at, yes.


Not the best as far as typography goes but still makes me chuckle.

And one I have always liked the design of the label for:

p@rick