What’s In A Name?…Or A Label?

I’d love to sit here and say I was into the craft beer scene from the get-go. That I skipped the phase where my beer purchases were exclusively big beer. But we’re here to be honest, so I won’t bother spinning that fantasy. Shock Top and Blue Moon – even some of their mix packs – were near-permanent residents in my beer crisper. The addition of Allagash White to the rotation was the result of a restaurant’s lack of alternatives. I know how terrible that sounds, mainly because of how good Allagash White is.

Stepping into the craft beer world didn’t happen until my pride was challenged. A somewhat annoyed, possibly embarrassed, critique that I never tried anything new was hurled my way during dinner at The Publick House in Brookline. After so many years of nagging in regards to my picky eating habits, you’d think I would have been able to rise above that kind of thing. But no, that’s not me.

I let my finger slide down the extensive list of beers on the menu. I paused on Victory’s Golden Monkey and ordered one without looking at the style or anything else. Good thing I wasn’t driving. The name had piqued my interest. In fact, when the waiter came back with the beer, I was more interested in what I had ordered rather than in the why.

After that, I went on my merry way down Craft Beer Lane. Always looking for the latest hop varieties and flavor combinations, never taking into consideration trivial things like the name or the art on the bottle or can. See? This fairytale thing doesn’t work here.

I’m not saying that I don’t pay attention to the beer style, the hops in the brew, and other ingredients. I do. The last thing I want is the disappointment of selecting a sour. But, when it comes down to it, I am a sucker for a good name. And an even bigger sucker for can art.

Maybe I shouldn’t admit that. I should really be focused on the beer itself. Which I am once the tab snaps open the can. But when I am in the middle of the selection process, I can’t help but judge a beer by its cover. Hell, entertainment options being what they are in a COVID world, going to the package store is tantamount to going to an art gallery these days. So, I am totally comfortable admitting I like punny beer names and vibrant, exciting cans. I wouldn’t want all that advertizing money to go to waste.

Not that every brewery goes for that sort of thing, obviously. Sometimes a sleek, simple design can stand out in a sea of color. Please see West Side Story for visualization on that strategy. It worked well for Maria…well, sort of. You get what I mean.

Although, I can think of one example where that didn’t seem to pan out. At least for me. Henniker Brewing in New Hampshire used to have the coolest art. Almost Tim Burton-esque really. At one point, we had a few of their paper coasters. For the life of me, I cannot find them. Rest assured, I will come across them in two weeks when I don’t need them.

For a while, I saw their bottles and cans in stores and happily picked up some when the mood struck. A trip up to their brewery wasn’t exactly in our way, so I was glad they were distributing. But then I stopped seeing them. It was like they vanished. Breweries can come and go in a flash, but that’s not what happened to Henniker. They are still producing beers and still have their taproom. They had changed their design to a streamlined and uniform design for all of their beers. I was digging in the wrong place, so to speak. I was literally looking through their product. All I saw was a line of white cans with a splash of color. Something unfamiliar. Definitely not what I was looking for.

If I had been into Instagram at the time and had the beer feed going on that I do now, I probably would not have missed that switch up. There is little doubt in my mind that if I scrolled through their posts, I’d find an announcement about the labels. I would still miss the original can art, but I wouldn’t have been missing out on partaking in their Miles and Miles and other selections.

So, while it sounds silly to base your purchases on labels and names, we do it all the same. Which might give some insight into what Stone has been up to the last few years, but I think I’ll leave that for another day.

This is where I leave you, Nerd Girls, but leave a comment of your favorite beer names and labels below!