The Amazing Labels of Homebrewed by Design

On Thursday night, I attended Homebrewed by Design. As part of Design Week Portland, professional graphic designers partnered with 20 homebrewers to create uniquely labeled homebrewed beer. At the event, the 20 labels were unveiled and the homebrews were served.

In addition to attending, I actually participated as one of the brewers. This was the first time my beer was served in public, so I was very excited! Held at One Grand Gallery on E. Burnside, the event drew a full house. 

I was blown away by the quality and ingenuity of the labels! The time, care, and attention put into the labels was obvious. In addition to great design and beautiful artwork, many labels were die-cut into unique shapes. Here’s a sampling of some of my favorites:

 

The beer was impressive as well! A wide variety of styles were served--saisons, stouts, multiple IPA twists, a Thai Iced Gose, among others. They were all solid. We’ve got some talented homebrewers in this town!

I brewed a White Session IPA. Since I didn’t have good name for it, I gave my designer free reign to name it. He called it Western Native and the label sports a picture of a Native American on the label. I’m not quite sure how the name connects to my beer. I was hoping to meet my designer at the event to learn more, but we were not able to connect. 

I was worried about my beer because it didn’t have much time to bottle carbonate. After I sampled it for the very first time at the event, I was very relieved to see it had developed carbonation. 

I had a great time and hope event organizers Eric Steen and Jason Sturgill will bring Homebrewed by Design back for another round in 2014! Did you attend Homebrewed by Design? What were your favorite labels?

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