With kaleidoscopic colours and vivid illustrations, craft beer labels range from the weird to the wonderful.
Over the years the craft beer boom has seen a surge of independent, unique, and sometimes unexpected brews land on our shelves. With craft brewers creating new takes on classic beer styles as well as their own unique flavours, it’s a great time to be a beer lover with adventurous tastes.
The only thing more bold than today’s craft beers are their eye-catching labels. You’ll know you’ve wandered into the craft beer section when you start seeing Wonka-esque beer designs. With kaleidoscopic colours and vivid illustrations, craft beer labels range from the weird to the wonderful.
After scanning the shelves of our epic craft beer selection we’ve pulled together some of our favourite craft beer labels and grouped them below for your visual pleasure. (And yes, they taste as good as they look.)
Who said a beer label can't be pink? Nobody did. And that’s what makes this group of pastel coloured designs so great. They all use colours that aren’t traditionally associated with beer and they have fun while doing it. Colonial Brewing Co.’s Southwest Sour is a peachy-toned standout, while both Moon Dog’s Lagoona Matata Sour Ale and Brooklyn’s Bel Air Sour play around with pastel pinks and blues. But it’s not just sour ales that are having all the fun, Gold Coast brewer Balter has their entire range of beers dipped in pastel accents.
These citrus-toned labels capture every colour of a long summer sunset. Bursting with red, orange, yellow, and every other sunny accent you can think of. La Sirene Brewing are known for their art deco inspired cans and their orange coloured Citray Sour is a real highlight. 3 Raven’s New England Juicy IPA looks like Italian orange soda from the 70s — what more could you want? While the retro space age illustration on Colossal Brewing’s Hopmosphere West Coast IPA is as vibrant as it is detailed. Anyone familiar with Sierra Nevada’s classic green Pale Ale bottle might be surprised to see their bright pink and yellow Wild Little Thing Slightly Sour Ale. And finally there’s the Modus Operandi Former Tenant Red Ale, which, you guessed it, is a mesmerising gradient red.
While you’re looking for a craft beer you’ll see a few faces looking back at you. Lots of brewers have used illustrated characters on their cans in various styles. Social Beast’s Pale Ale features a friendly Sasquatch sharing a round with friends. Maybe you’d prefer a round with Voodoo Ranger’s skull-faced IPA? Or you could always have a pillow fight with the characters from Tallboy & Moose Pillow Fight Oat Cream IPA. And then there’s Bodriggy Brewing Co. from Melbourne, who are known for their warped illustrations. Their slime coloured Utropia Pale Ale which features a pigeon-headed skateboarder is no exception.
