OnTap Magazine

FEATURE As Glazer put it: “I think the more stimuli our brains have to process, the more creative – wait, clever – design must be. And the busier our lives become, the more our eyes are glued to screens and Netflix and Instagram and animated display ads, the more design has the responsibility to cut through the noise, not add to it.” Niall Cook of Richmond Hill Brewing Company in Port Elizabeth and Joff, a locally based film, studio and street artist, echo Glazer’s thoughts. The two recently collaborated on the label design for Modern Guilt, a beer that was born out of the desire to make something interesting, dark and complex. The image on the can – an oil painting adaptation – depicts a couple embracing but looking past each other, distracted. It is a commentary on how easy it is to remove oneself from the moment, focusing on the inconsequential rather than the present. Joff explains that the characteristics of the beer itself – the complexity, uniqueness, and high alcohol content – all leant themselves to the design concept. It is a beer that one might share and enjoy with a friend, given the elevated ABV, and that might inspire conversation. In terms of the collaborative process between brewery and artist, Cook explains that working with an individual, and preferably someone local, tends to produce something affordable but still exceptional – something that can stand up to the work done by bigger commercial entities. Working with local artists is also a way to ground your design in concepts that speak to your consumers, many of whom tend to be local themselves. Joff adds that the working relationship between brewer and artist mirrors those relationships inherent in the world of craft beer – relationships which tend to be close, supportive and encouraging of creative expression and shared involvement throughout. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Kennel Brewery in Durbanville is a multiple label award winner, earning a gold medal in 2018 for its core range, and then in 2020 taking home another gold medal and wowing the judges with the limited release Wax On Wax Off IPA. Their Facebook timeline is a veritable master class in the art of branding. Head brewer and brand owner Paul Freysen is obviously enthused by design potential, even beyond beer labels – in fact, his team just launched a separate but affiliated endeavor with Mannemarak Branding called “The Kennel Creative” in order to offer design and branding services to the wider drinks industry. Over the past year, Kennel has released a series of once-off beers, with names such as Fairway to Heaven, Craft Beer is Dead and Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Belgian Honey Ale, each with an individualised concept and eye-catching label design. However, accompanying this enthusiasm for the visual arts, Freysen was also quick to point out that as much fun as you have with your labels, a pretty can is not enough. “At the end of the day, you still need to brew good beer!” Freysen says. Ultimately, whether you are in Abuja or Durbanville, craft beer has the ability to offer up something unique or experimental, all the while incorporating local and cultural influences; it seems only fitting that the labels do much the same. Richmond Hill collaborated with Cape Town brewery Riot and local artist Joff on Modern Guilt, an 8.4% ABV dark ale Kennel Brewery's waxed can wowed the label design judges in 2020 Happily, craft beer is still very much alive Local artist Mannemarak designs all of Kennel Brewery's labels, including this collab with Soul Barrel Nigerian artist Williams Chechet collaborated with the country's first craft brewery, Bature on some striking can art 32 | Winter 2021 | ontapmag.co.za