The Art of Beer: Beer Guy

You can’t judge a book by its cover. You can’t judge a beer by its label. Or can you?

Librarian trade secret: we do judge books by their covers. That’s because we like pretty things as much as the next person (ignore our Birkenstocks). More importantly, librarians know our customers pick books by looks. That copy of Pride and Prejudice with the serious cover will languish on the shelf while the movie tie-in edition with Colin Firth or Keira Knightley on the cover will be checked out constantly.

Same thing for beer. It doesn’t matter how wonderful the beer inside the bottle is if the outside is not so wonderful. On the flip side, a beautiful label isn’t going to sell an ugly beer. Before the Alberta craft beer boom, locals could focus on making great beer and as a marketing strategy simply point out they were different than the big brewers. In today’s crowded beer market with over a hundred Alberta breweries, plus hundreds of imports available, that won’t fly. Branding and marketing—including striking, good-looking labels—are a key stop on the road to success.

Successful breweries understand that you need a first-rate brewmaster but also a masterful marketer. At Edmonton’s Sea Change Brewing, that marketer is partner and brand director Pete Nguyen. Pete is an all-round creative person, a musician and an artist. The giant Crush Beers Not Dreams mural on the side of the Commercial Hotel on Whyte is his. Ten years as an art director for magazines such as Avenue and Vue and three years as the creative director at Berlin Communications helped Pete hit the ground running at Sea Change. Almost all the artwork connected to Sea Change–—the taproom murals, the labels, the merch—came from Pete or through him. Pete. Pete told me it was comic books that got him excited about being an artist. “The idea of building characters and stories and making them real was a huge motivator when I was growing up.” His Sea Change art is based on comic book style and traditional tattoo art. “Thick bold lines, lots of movement and character and some mystery in its meaning. It’s familiar but perplexing.”

The art is a strong visual representation of what Sea Change is all about, their story, their brand. Founded by musicians, Sea Change is punk rock, DIY, we’re in this together. Pete notes that “we built an authentic brand by being honest and true to ourselves.” The marketing on top of the brand was DIY too, almost guerilla marketing—promoting the beer like they would promote a band. The beer is consistent with the brand—what Pete calls “super-accessible” and approachable, focussed on “crushability” rather than experimentation. In music terms, they want to be a mainstream band that makes really authentic music.

Like an indie band that starts to get radio play and some sold-out gigs, Sea Change is faced with the conundrum of success. How to grow without losing the authentic connection with community? Covid-19 forced them to answer this question sooner than later. The pandemic wiped out their business model focussed on draft beer, with 70-80 per cent of their pre-Covid business from kegs. Their DIY start-up spirit stood them in good stead as they pivoted to canned beer, delivery and retail sales. Pete notes that their success has been well-received: “Our biggest fans are very proud about our growth and are extremely supportive.” I bet someday Sea Change will be pouring for huge crowds, on tap at Rogers Place. And the guy next to you at the bar will say, “Yeah, I was into them early on. I got a tattoo. Let me show you.”

Beer art six pack
There are so many great beer labels out there. Here are some of my favourites. All beers available at better beer stores like Sherbrooke Liquor.

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Sea Change Death Wave Mexican Lager, Edmonton Death Wave is a very light, crisp, quaffable lager that pairs well with the fabulous nachos, tacos and burritos from Huma Mexican Comfort restaurant. Gold Winner for Light Lager at the 2020 Canadian Brewing Awards. And, showing their willingness to try something new, Sea Change opened a second taproom south of Edmonton in Beaumont.

Collective Arts Jam Up Boysenberry Blackberry, Hamilton Collective Arts makes the case for the can as canvas. Believing that creativity fosters creativity, Collective Arts supports emerging artists and musicians, featuring limited-edition art on their beer labels. Past artists include Edmontonians Jill Hollett and Jenny Keith. This juiced up version of their Jam Up Sour is sweet, tart and delicious.

Cabin Super Saturation New England Pale Ale, Calgary Co-founder Haydon Dewes calls Cabin’s aesthetic modern nostalgia —clean, simple, modern designs referencing the bold, colourful graphics of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Labels are designed by Daughter Creative (including Haydon’s wife Jill Dewes). Super Saturation is a soft, silky, juicy dream, tasting of tropical hops including Simcoe, Citra and Mosaic.

Jasper Crisp Pils, Jasper Jasper Brewing brought out this beer and its delightful, retro label in honour of Canada’s 150th birthday. It proved so popular they have kept it on as a core beer. The can design’s yellow and brown an homage to ’60s and ’70s era National Park signage. The beer is a crispy, tasty throwback to classic Czech and German pilsners, perfect at the end of a long Jasper hike.

Alley Kat Red Demon Red Rice Lager, Edmonton Can an old Alley Kat learn new tricks? Absolutely. New owners Zane Christensen and Cameron French oversaw Alley Kat trading in bottles for cans, along with a brand refresh. As well, Alley Kat has been commissioning art for their special releases, including this unique red rice lager from their Back Alley series, with art by Edmonton artist Josh Harnack..

Broken Spoke Hopped Cider, Edmonton Edmonton’s first cidery opened in summer 2020. Their brand is bikes: “Did we mention that we like bikes? It’s kind of our thing.” Their brand is consistent through name, social media and in the pretty cycling-centric cans. The Hopped Cider is balanced, dry and fragrant with floral aroma.