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brokenanchor · 09-25-2008, 02:14 AM

A college buddy and I have been brewing for a while and have really had a good time naming our beers. We've been throwing ideas around for a brewing name, and finally landed on Broken Anchor. This stems from the fact that we are both sailing enthusiasts, his last name actually means "go sailing" in dutch, and we are both, as Jimmy Buffett would put it, pirates born two hundred years too late. Anyway, I put this logo together, but feel like it's still missing something...any ideas on how I can turn this into a better beer label? I'm thinking of trying to work the anchor or east india trading company logos in there somehow. To avoid any confusion our initials are BH and CZ. You'll have to see it on flickr since I haven't gotten around to getting a premium account yet...though I do plan to do so to support the HBT!

Flickr: bigbluemonkey21's Photostream

Bob · 09-25-2008, 11:13 AM

I love the logo! The only thing I'd change is the font used for the initials at the points of the compass rose; the H and Z aren't immediately identifiable as those letters.

Two pointers about making a professional-looking label:

1. Print one out and stick it on a bottle, put the bottle on a shelf and take a couple of paces back. Can you read it? Can you make out what it is? If not, think hard about a redesign. This is a rule if you're selling it, of course; but it helps the amateur look professional!

2. Where is the brewing co. logo? If you can't see it immediately at a glance, it's not prominent enough. It's not enough to get the brand name; the maker's mark has to be seen clearly, too.

Do those things, and it's obvious that it's Broken Anchor's Headless Horseman.

Speaking of which, a clever name is worth its weight in Saaz. Style names are for very small print.

Like this:

BROKEN ANCHOR

[ART]

HEADLESS HORSEMAN

SPICED PUMPKIN BROWN ALE

Let me tell you why.

When I brewed for a living, we made a fantastic Tripel. The label said "Belgian-style Trippel" and had the brewery name on it. It sold, but nothing spectacular; once an enthusiast tried it, s/he was invariably impressed. But it didn't leap off the shelves. Then we named it "Merry Monk", I doodled a label concept which the digital-graphics guy made cool, and made a new case box as well. We "debuted" it dressed as monks at beer festivals (we acted like we were debuting a new beer, but really we were debuting the new packaging!). Sales took off like a greyhound after a rabbit.

Why? Because it became exciting. Inside the bottle was the same recipe we'd been brewing for years. But the artwork drew the eye, and the name drew the imagination.

Yeah, we're homebrewers. We don't need to do that. Hell, I don't label but a six-pack or so of every batch I bottle; usually I just write the gyle number on the cap with a Sharpie. But if we're gonna do labels, isn't it cool as hell to do one up like the pros?

Cheers,

Bob

MrNate · 09-25-2008, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobNQ3X

I love the logo! [everything else]

I agree with everything Bob just said and wish to subscribe to his newsletter.

Bob · 09-25-2008, 01:26 PM

Newsletter...? Okay!

Er... What newsletter?

brokenanchor · 09-25-2008, 02:19 PM

Thanks Bob! This is all really useful stuff, especially someone who was on the team at Weyerbacher. Believe it or not I've seen this beer before. My uncle is from Boston and brought an assortment of 6 packs to Christmas a few years ago, and Weyerbacher was one of them. I recognized the bottle instantly when I saw it. Now that's good marketing! I would love to be able to tell you how great it was, but I didn't actually get to try it since I wasn't 21 at the time. Great advice though, I'll probably end up reworking some of this now.

Bob · 09-25-2008, 03:49 PM

Good Lord. Here I thought I was being cleverly vague!

Bob

**Chriso** · 09-25-2008, 03:59 PM

Heh, I always wondered, Bob, but now I know!

They're definitely one of the east-coast breweries that I'm most curious about, and most sad that I can't get their stuff. The Double Simcoe IPA sounds so freakin' good.

Their label art is all top notch, I love it - just wish there were bigger copies of each label on the site!

Bob · 09-25-2008, 04:04 PM

WBC is a fabulous place, and I must admit it's gotten more interesting since I left it back in 2004. They've gone more niche; the last six months I was there, we kept brewing more and more big beers, more flavor-bombs, and the session ales - which I adored - fell by the wayside. Now they don't even brew a beer less than 6% ABV. I used to drink copious amounts of the ESB; it was a lovely thing, like a fresh bottle of Fuller's. But now it's gone.

Good for them, though! They've really gotten huge now, because they dropped all the pedestrian stuff and brew things like Double Simco IPA and bourbon barrel Blithering Idiot and stuff. I wish them all the luck in the world!

The labels are pretty cool. I remember meetings flipping through proofs for the Blithering Idiot label. That was the first one to change, and the sales effect was dramatic.

Cheers,

Bob