NOT SO GRAPHIC DESIGN
By Emily Day
And the award for the best treatment of women on a beer label goes to… Every now and then a beer label pops up that makes you roll your eyes and go… really? And you’re transported back to the dark old days when women in the industry were relegated to being either silent servers or coquettish eye candy. Luckily, those times have changed (lol, I think) and there are more and more women killing it in every aspect of the brewing industry. As someone who spends a lot of time in bottle shops gawking at the new stuff, salivating over my faves and occasionally rolling my eyes, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the breweries who depict women on their beer labels in a positive and awesome way (yes, it can be done!) Here are our Top 5.
CoConspirators (VIC): ‘The Matriarch’ New England IPA This juicy NEIPA is an absolute ripper, and what makes it even better is the eyegrabbing tinnie featuring a haughty-looking older septuagenarian with a no-nonsense attitude ‒ basically she’s Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom and I am slightly terrified of her. Congratulations CoConspirators (and designer Clint Weaver) for featuring not only a woman, but the oft-overlooked older woman, as the face of this ripper brew. Garage Project (NZ): Hunnybee Kiwi brew stars Garage Project love to create stunning beer labels and it’s hard to pick a femalefocused favourite from their range of designs. We love the ‘Hops on Pointe’ Champagne Pilsner, made for the New Zealand Royal Ballet, that featured tiny dancers in the white spaces between hop leaves. We also adored the spicy ‘La Calavera Catrina’ corn lager brewed with habanero chilli, watermelon and rose water, with a spooky tattooed girl clutching a skull on the white tinnie, while ‘Mon P’tit Chou’ has a young ginger-haired woman dreamily holding a cabbage. All
intriguing female characters, artfully drawn, and not sexualised. It’s that easy! GP’s new beer, Hunnybee, is a honey wheat farmhouse ale made as a collaboration with psychedelic band Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and features an illustration of a woman of colour busting out of a pale mask, with a giant bee and an eyeball on her head. A lot going on here in this intriguing artwork by Mexican artist Pogo. Little Bang Brewing Co (SA): Beard Fiction These lads from Adelaide create extremely fun and oddball labels for their beers, such as the ‘Icon’ Hoppy Steam Ale with its ’80s-looking computer graphics, the ‘Naked Objector’ Indecent West Coast IPA in a yellow tinnie with a sketch of a nude old dude (inspired by a local gent who apparently wanted the right to remain unclothed in the vicinity of the brewery). Another great example is ‘Beard Fiction’, which they’ve called a Slightly Erotic Pale Ale. Parodying a Mills & Boon cover, the label has a woman and a bare-chested man ‒ they’ve flipped the gender roles so the woman is in the position of power, clothed and in control, while in a bodiceripping reversal, the buff man’s shirt is gaping open. Gold. La Sirene If you’ve seen La Sirene’s bottles you’ll know they feature a beautiful mermaid perched atop a rock. In Greek mythology, the Sirens were dangerous creatures who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. La Sirene’s finned lady is super pretty but she also owns that rock, and looks like she could do you some
damage with a smack of her mighty tail. Pictured in a gorgeous Art Nouveau style, these labels are very classy. This siren is a babe, but one you need to respect.
Beer Baroness Christchurch brewer Ava Nakagawa, aka the Beer Baroness, has created a choice range of brews including The Bearded Lady Stout, Mama Mighty American IPA, Madame Brown Ale and Rye-ot Grrrl Rye IPA. Each label features a stylised version of Ava dressed in various outfits to match the beer. Witty, eye-catching and brimming with confidence, this branding proudly stakes a claim for women on the beer shelves.
FIVE RULES FOR PUTTING WOMEN ON A BEER LABEL 1. Is she wearing all of her clothes? If not, is there a legitimate reason for this? 2. Is she blond, tall and slim? Have you considered putting women of other shapes, sizes and colour on the label? 3. Is she depicted as being helpless or passive? Or is she doing/achieving something? Does she look like she might have a name and a back story? 4. Would you show this image or beer name to your mum? 5. Do you think this label will make women feel included in the beer industry, and likely to grab this beer off the shelf and share it with their mates? Or vomit in their mouths a little? Froth Beer Magazine p19