Beer: logos-a-gogo's

Hello fellow Alabaskan's! It's been a while since we last threw some thoughts around, but were back in business and I've got some things to share.

The first thing I'd like to share is a little factoid, (these are bits of somewhat useless information that clutter my mind constantly and are pretty much only useful when watching Jeopardy or finding myself  trapped at a social gathering where I know zero people) there are more than 1,800 breweries in America at the  moment. That's a lot of beer folks, and while some are just out to make a buck or ginormous conglomerates, most are local, small town craftsmen/women who pour their souls into small batches of beer for your enjoyment and theirs.

With that said, this means the beer market is flooded with brands that need to stand out on the shelves amongst all of their fellow brews. There are some beers that have been around so long, their iconic logo's are burned into our subconscious memories, i.e. Budweiser and Pabst Blue Ribbon for instance, but for the little guys, they have to try a little bit more. The result has been a wide array of new logo's that run the gamut of imagery from oddball to downright artistic and I gotta say, I love it. I know that beer snobs reading this will may say things like "the label doesn't matter, taste does", but what wrong with having good taste in the label my friend? I know it doesn't make the product taste any better, but I'll admit I'm a sucker for an eye-catching bottle to inspire me to try a new beer when my taste buds get tired of the same old flavors.

Here are some beers out there with some unique artistry. I haven't tried all of them out there yet mind you, but with images like these, I'm gonna do my best. Here are some that have caught my eye and have had a taste of over the years. Who knows, maybe you might not know of one and will want to try something new!

1) Flying Dog Ale

This beauty was designed by the artist Ralph Steadman, he's more well known for his illustrations of literary works such as Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", but he certainly knows how to catch your eye in a supermarket just as well as in an art gallery.

2) Anchor Brewing Co.

This is a much more traditional logo, but I love it just the same. Anchor steam offers 12 different kinds of beers, all with their own unique logo, but all of them have the original anchor placed somewhere on them. I'm personally a fan of their porter, but the steam logo seems to be their most recognizable. Be forewarned, I served in the Navy, sooooooo I'm easily turned into a sucker for nautical symbols on my booze.

3) Leinenkugel

Pronounced "line-en-coogle", This beer comes from Wisconsin and it's most well known beers are simple pilsners and American lager's, unlike the fancy penmanship found on their logo. They do have many other seasonal beers to try, but the day I stumbled across them, the fancy script is really what drew my attention, the pretty lady with a feather in her hair was a nice touch too, if you're into that.

4) Butternuts Porkslap Pale Ale

I didn't find this one myself, but a friend of mine was throwing a party for opening their business a while back and this is what I found as a selection at the open bar. There were plenty of other selection there and yes, I only tried it because it's logo is two pigs performing a chest bump. I will always support the ridiculous, even if it's beer that only comes in a can.

5) Brooklyn Brewery
   "Defender"

From a favorite company of mine, Brooklyn Brewery gives a persona to their seasonal beer "Defender". I don't know what else to say other than, it's beer AND comics. What more do you need!?

Comics and Heros and Beer Oh My!

We live in a world, especially those of us calling New York City home, where advertisements and product placements over saturate everything our eyes cross paths with. Buses wrapped completely in shrink wrap with the faces of movie stars, Billboards with scantily clad supermodels, and our televisions flood us with information about every product and service out there that we so desperately need to be better, cooler, stronger, or whatever message they have lined up to shove down our throats.

Well here is a new product that for once that I don't mind having put down my throat... err, what I mean to say is, drink.

This relatively new beer is named Brooklyn Defender. It's a limited edition brew from one of my personal favorite breweries out today, Brooklyn Brewery. The catchy thing about this beer is that while its a great drink, it's become an amazing piece of product placement in the land of all that is geeky known as "Comic-Con" a weekend-long extravaganza where hardcore lovers of pop-culture congregate to get sneak peaks on their upcoming television series, comic story lines, and whatever else you can imagine, while grabbing lots of free promotional goodies.

The beer itself is an amber IPA and is draft only, meaning no collectible cans or bottles for those that enjoy buying things but never open them (you know who I'm talking about, Mr. I own an original "telescoping lightsaber" Darth Vader but will never, EVER take it out of the box).

The beer will only be available throughout the week of comic-con (Thats this one!!!) and will be offered at the brewery itself and select bars throughout NYC. the link below will give you more info about the history or the beer and the locations you can go to get yourself a taste, I highly recommend you try it for yourself.

What I really love about this particular beer is how its embraced the Comic-Con culture and profited from the mindset. It's limited edition (What collector doesn't like that?) and has an awesome superhero on the front! Along with that, the beer is delicious, have I mentioned you should try it for yourselves yet? Anyway, enjoy the festivities of Comic-Con and go get yourself a super powered beer afterwards ( Don't forget to check the link below to see all the awesomeness that Brooklyn Defender has to offer!)

http://brooklynbrewery.com/blog/news/introducing-the-brooklyn-defender/