Fun with brewery names

The craft brewery revolution is still going strong.  Michigan, for example, now has about 100 breweries, with several more in various stages of planning.  Other states are experiencing similar growth in their brewing industries.  One of the things I particularly enjoy is finding out the names of the new breweries and where the names come from.  I noticed that some of the names are amusingly similar in some interesting ways.  Here are some examples.

Right Brain Brewery (Traverse City, MI)/Left Hand Brewing (Longmont, CO)

Schmohz Brewing Company (Grand Rapids, MI)/Shmaltz Brewing Company (Saratoga Springs, NY)

Clown Shoes (Ipswitch, MA)/Jester King Craft Brewery (Austin, TX)

Boulder Brewing Company (Boudler, CO)/Stone Brewing Company (Escondido, CA)

Mt. Pleasant Brewing Company (Mt. Pleasant, MI)/Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project (Westport, MA)

Witch’s Hat Brewing Company (South Lyon, MI)/Magic Hat Brewing Company (South Burlington, VT)

Goose Island Beer Company (Chicago, IL)/Frog Island Brewery (Ann Arbor, MI)

Short’s Brewing Company (Elk Rapids, MI)/Red Jacket Brewing Company (Calumet, MI)
Original Gravity Brewing Company (Milan, MI)/Final Gravity Brewing Company (Decauter, MI)

Cheers,

Zymus

Michigan Beer Label Competition, Part 4: Ranks 12-14

We are getting very near the end.  This posting reports on the breweries that placed 12th through 14th in the Michigan Beer Label Competition, brought to you by Beer Avatar.

Copper Canyon Brewery. Score: 21; Rank: Tied for 14^th out of 36.

The Copper Canyon Brewery, located in Southfield, tied for 14^th place with three other breweries.  This brewery does not sell their beer is bottles, at least not widely, but have developed labels for many of their most popular beers. These labels can be found on their website:  http://www.coppercanyonbrewery.com/beer.html. 

I think their labels are pleasing to the eye, interesting, and have a lot of variety.  My favorite label is the Buffalo Jump Stout, with its Native American theme.   Because these labels are not on bottles or cans, I judged the information content based on the website.  Each beer has a brief description and the ABV% is listed.  I’ve not yet stopped at this brewery, but the beer and food menu look great.

Big Buck Brewery. Score: 21; Rank: Tied for 14^th out of 36.

Gaylord’s Big Buck Brewery also tied for 14^th in the beer label competition.  The brewery sells a number of their beers in bottles directly out of their retail market.  The labels come in a variety of styles, from simple text with no artwork (e.g., Doc’s Extra Special Bitter), to photo based (e.g., Big Buck IPA), to graphic arts (e.g., Black River Stout).

Some of the labels are very well done and others are just fun.  I particularly like the Buck Naked light label, in part due to the play on words with the brewery name.  All in all, the brewery, website, and labels have a somewhat corporate feel.  The next time I travel up north, I’ll have to make sure to stop by this brewery/restaurant/retail market.    

Frog Island Brewery.  Score: 21; Rank: Tied for 14^th out of 36.

I’ve followed the Frog Island brewery for more than a decade, from when it was contract brewed up to the brewery finally finding a home in Ypsilanti (or is it located in Ann Arbor or is it only contract brewed in Ann Arbor??).  I’m still not sure exactly where they brew their beer and their website is pretty vague on this as well.  You can see a further discussion on this topic elsewhere in Beer Avatar.

Nevertheless, folks in the Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor area are fortunate enough to have access to 9 of Frog Island’s highly recommended offerings in bottles.  I really like most of the labels that they have developed.  The artwork in many of the labels is quite detailed and I found myself using a magnifying glass to catch them all. 

If I had to pick, my two favorite labels are Devil in the Details Imperial Stout and Moon Squaller Scotch Ale.  (Note: Squaller = one who utters in a screaming tone.) All of the labels include a statement about the beer and the alcohol level.  I hope that this brewery can establish a home somewhere and open up a taproom.

Short's Brewing Company.  Score: 21; Rank: Tied for 14^th out of 36.

The other brewery that placed 14^th, was Short's Brewing Company in Bellaire. Short's is one of my favorite Michigan breweries and the brewpub is well worth a trip to that part of the state.  Short's must have set a record for the greatest number of different beers that are produced on a fairly regular basis.  I’ve been collecting their beer bottles for some time and have nearly 50 different Short's beer bottles in my collection.

The artwork for nearly all of the labels are done in what appears to be watercolors and probably done by the same artist. The details are minimal and the artwork is above average.  Several of the labels are fun interpretations of the beer names, such as Hangin’ Frank and Bloody Beer. 

  

All labels are lacking in information.  There is no alcohol content generally listed and it’s often hard to imagine what the beer might taste like.   The brewery often includes ingredients that you don’t normally find in beer, such as their beer Key Lime Pie that includes lime, graham cracker, and marshmallow in the recipe (one to avoid by the way).  Having some statement of the flavor would be helpful.   At any rate, I’m always excited to find a bottle of Shorts that I’ve never before tried.

Frankenmuth Brewery.  Score: 22; Rank: Tied for 12^th out of 36.

Michigan’s oldest brewery scored a tie for 12^th place in the beer label competition.  I recently purchased Frankenmuth Brewery’s 150^th anniversary dark lager.  It is a little misleading, as the brewery called the Cass River Brewery back in 1862, and later the Geyer Brothers Brewery, before it became the Frankenmuth Brewery in 1899.  There is also a period of time where the brewery was closed after being hit by a tornado in 1996.  Nevertheless, it is an impressive history and length of time to be brewing beer.  And, as you might expect, the labeling from this brewery has undergone many changes throughout the years.  Here are two labels from when the brewery was called Geyer Brothers.

Currently, Frankenmuth brews a set of 6 year round beers.  Just a few years ago, the labels for these beers all had a unique character, with for example Red Sky Ale having a kind of funky, modern look and Batch 69 American Paled Ale having a patriotic look and so on.  A year or two, ago all the labels changed and they all now have the same basic look, with the brewery name and logo displayed prominently in the center surrounded by a black background.  The borders of the main label and the neck label varied in color and decoration depending on the beer.  Yes, this was a little boring but the brand recognition at least is there.

 What scored points for Frankenmuth Brewery was their annual release of a 750 ml holiday beer.  Each year these labels are different and in many years, the labels for these limited release beers are signed by the brewmaster.  It is an actual signature, rather than just having it as part of the printed label.  Indeed, in 2012 I purchased a bottle of New Years Imperial Stout that had the hand written message “Julie laughs like she is wasted.” I later found out that Julie is the brewmaster’s daughter.  Fun stuff.  I’d like to have a few brews with them sometime.

New Year Imperial Stout with Comment Written by Brewmaster

Dragonmead Microbrewery.  Score: 22; Rank: Tied for 12^th out of 36.

Dragonmead Microbrewery, from Warren, also tied for 12^th place.  Dragonmead is one of my favorite brewpubs to visit.  I like the medieval theme, stained glass windows, and extensive selection of amazing beers.  The brewery only sells about 4 or 5 varieties of their beer outside of the brewery.  The artwork for the labels is based on a shield design, with the brewery’s cool logo at the top, the beer name and style in the middle, and a scene in the background.  The shield ensures good brand recognition, and the names, colors, and background artwork give them decent shelf appeal.  My two favorites are Sir William Extra Special Bitter and Armageddon Grand Cru. Dragonmead labels often tells you a little about the beer, but do not provide the beers’ alcohol content.  

Stay tuned to Beer Avatar as we count our way down to the winner.

Cheers,

Zymus

Short's Brewing Company

With so many unusually named beer in the Short's pantheon of beers, there were many that I was curious about.  Recently, I came across one called "Key Lime Pie."  This one, in particular, made me nervous.  The label indicted that it was made with marshmallows, lactose, lime, and graham crackers!

The Short's website describes it as follows; "Made with fresh limes, milk sugar, graham cracker, and marshmallow fluff, we were able to recreate this popular dessert into a heavenly drinkable version. The prominent flavors are immensely sweet, yet tart, with subtle hints of graham cracker coming through in the nose and remain on the back of the palate." Source:

http://www.shortsbrewing.com/

So, I shelled out my $2.69 and purchased a single bottle.  It sat in my refrigerator for weeks while I waited for an occasion that seemed appropriate for trying this unusual beer.  Then one day last weekend, my wife said, "When you open that bottle of Key Lime Pie I want to try it." An occasion had presented itself.  

That night I opened the bottle and gave it a try.  It did taste a bit like lime, graham cracker...maybe some marshmallow, but it was way too sweet for me, to my great disappointment.  I gave the rest to my wife, who took one sip and had the same reaction.  Although it is a rarity in my home, we poured out this rest.  Fortunately, I had recently purchased a six-pack of "Ale la Reverend," also from Short's, so I had an excellent alternative.

Cheers,

Zymus

Short's Brewing Company

The past 10 years have been great for Michigan-based beers.  I have sampled beers from around the USA and world, and Michigan beers stack up with the best.  One of my particularly favorite breweries is the Short's Brewing Company located in Elk Rapids with a taproom in Bellaire, Michigan.  http://www.shortsbrewing.com/.

Sampling beers at Short's

Short's Brewing Taproom, Bellaire, MI

Short's brews 10 beers that are available year-round and a whopping 40+ seasonal and specialty beers.  The brewery specializes in mixing and matching herbs, spices, fruits, and other flavors to create astonishingly unique beers.  For example, this year's Anniversary Ale was a wheat beer with blood orange zest/puree and green peppercorns.  At 10% ABV and a stiff 63 IBUs, this beer was a hearty treat.

The brewery also released in May their Spruce Pilsner, an Imperial Indian Pilsner made with Michigan spruce needles.  It did not sound too good to me, but I found it to be another unexpected treat from this out-of-the-way brewery.

If you find yourself up in the Boyne or Traverse City areas of Michigan, a side trip to the Short's taproom is well worth the time.  When I visited, they had 20 beers on tap and the food was quite good as well.

Cheers,

Zymus