If you’ve paid attention to the world of craft brewing over the past decade, you’ve surely noticed a trend in the way bottles and cans are adorned. Instead of simply labeling their beers “Hazy IPA” or “Imperial Stout” with nondescript, boring logo work, breweries have taken to hiring artists and graphic designers to create eye-grabbing labels. To the point where a beer’s label has become a significant part of how it attracts attention.
In the past, this trend led to a range of highly-sexualized labels and subsequent labeling rules. But thanks, in part, to better representation across the beer industry, brands are learning how to navigate the line between edgy and offensive.
This week, the craft beer subscription service Tavour compiled a list of the “most popular beer labels of all time.” Their exact metric is hazier than a New England IPA (isn’t Bud Light the “most popular” label of all time because it’s the best selling?), but the beers they’ve highlighted are all well-known fan favorites. Here are tasting notes (from us and/ or the brewery), along with a little bit about each entry.
Crane Brewing – Guava Weisse
ABV: 4.5%
The Story:
To make this truly unique, tropical sour ale, the folks at Missouri’s Cane Brewing used more than 500 pounds of pink guava (yes, there are different types of guava). This highly popular brew has been made since 2012 and has garnered well-deserved hype while racking up awards along the way.
The label is simple, stark, and incredibly memorable — with an origami-style bird in flight.
Tasting Notes (from The Brewery):
It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly you’re tasting with this beer as it’s a hybrid of a sour beer and a saison. It’s tart, tangy, subtly sour, and loaded with pear, peach, and of course guava flavors.
More Brewing Company – Razzimus Prime
ABV: 7.5%
The Story:
If you’re a child of the 80s (or you’ve seen one of the 100 Transformers movies), you’re well-acquainted with Optimus Prime. But you might not know about Rodimus Prime, who had to take over when his predecessor was killed by the evil Megatron. This beer is called Razzimus Prime and we can only assume this super fruity sour beer is ripe to take over if Rodimus meets his demise.
Tasting Notes (from The Brewery):
Made with 50 pounds of raspberries in every barrel, this beer is sweet, tart, and just the right amount of sour. It’s fruity, juicy, and pretty much like popping a fresh raspberry into your mouth in beer form.
Adroit Theory Brewing Company – Evangelion [XII Leliel Edition]
ABV: 10%
The Story:
Adroit makes this eagerly awaited IPA every year. This year is — as the name indicates — the 12th annual offering. It’s hazy, juicy, and pretty hard to find if you weren’t able to grab a few cans when it was released.
The can art is downright terrifying — with a skeleton moth and a very spooky horned demon.
Tasting Notes (from The Brewery):
While every year the brewery drops a new IPA in this series, they’re not all the same. Evangelion [XII Leliel Edition] was double dry-hopped with Mosaic, Sultana, Citra, Enigma, Motueka, and Simcoe hops. This juice bomb is full of fresh, sweet tropical fruit flavors and sits at a potent 10 percent ABV.
Mikkeller Brewing Company – Oh Hi Murk
ABV: 7.8%
The Story:
If you’ve seen the catastrophic movie The Room or the movie about the movie The Disaster Artist, you know all about the mysterious figure named Tommy Wiseau. This beer (and its cartoonish label) is a reference to one of his most famous lines in the original film.
Dry-hopped with Simcoe and Citra cryo hops, this beer is perfect for when you and your friends want to throw around a football for no reason.
Tasting Notes (Mine):
The name “Oh Hi Murk” is not only a reference to The Room, it’s also referencing the hazy, murky, juicy nature of this New England-style IPA. The use of flaked barley and malted oats gives this juice bomb, a nectar-like body that works perfectly with its juicy pineapple, mango, and guava flavors.
Evil Twin Brewing – Do You Have This I Love NY T-Shirt in My Size?
ABV: 8%
The Story:
This Imperial IPA is so named because of its general exclusivity to the brewery’s New York City taproom. It’s a reference to the well-known t-shirts you’ll find at the local airports and pretty much every tourist trap store in the city.
Tasting Notes (Mine):
Made with double dry-hopped Citra and Comet hops, this brew is super fresh, juicy, sweet, and filled with sharp citrus and sweet melon notes. It’s smooth, surprisingly light, and highly drinkable. Just be aware that it’s eight-percent ABV and pace yourself.
Jester King Brewery – Das Wunderkind
ABV: 4.5%
The Story:
This farmhouse ale is adorned with a very creepy, red-haired, steampunk looking character that we can only assume is the aforementioned “Wunderkind.” It’s a very interesting brew made by combining a barrel-aged beer that was fermented a second time with wild yeast together with an un-aged, dry-hopped beer.
Tasting Notes (Mine):
The result of this marriage is a very hazy, unfiltered brew perfectly suited for the warm days of early autumn. It’s light, refreshing, and filled with hints of citrus, mango, pineapple, and subtle peppery spice.
Odd13 Brewing – Hop Hop Troll Troll
ABV: 8%
The Story:
If you’re a fan of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, you’re sure to recognize the iconic episode titled “Nightman Cometh” in which the gang acts out the possible perverse story of the Dayman and Nightman on stage. Danny DeVito’s character Frank plays a troll and this beer was made to pay tribute to yet another tremendous acting performance.
The ‘troll toll” in this beer is five whole pounds (per barrel) of Citra and Motueka hops.
Tasting Notes (From The Brewery):
While Frank prefers drinking red wine out of beer cans, we’ll take this hoppy, refreshingly juicy IPA any day. It’s surprisingly easy to drink even with its high ABV and is filled with subtle resin and tropical fruit flavors.
Brouwerij West – Bunny Fuku
ABV: 7.3%
The Story:
There’s a children’s song about “little bunny foo foo” who enjoys scooping up field mice and bopping them on the head. While this is a strangely violent song to sing to toddlers, the folks at Brouwerij West decided to take the whole thing one step further and redub the character “Bunny Fuku.”
This hazy homage to the anti-social rabbit was made with a slew of Nelson and Citra hops.
Tasting Notes (Mine):
Like getting knocked over the head by a psychotic bunny, this beer is ripe with hop flavor. Its hazy, juicy, and full of sweet orange, pineapple, peach, and subtly resinous hops.
Anchorage Brewing Company – The Elk Prince
ABV: 10.4%
The Story:
Triple IPAs are no joke and this royal brew is sitting at a potent 10.4% ABV. This double dry-hopped beer is made with Lotus, Southern Passion, Equinot, and Mosaic hops. The label features an elk wearing what appears to be a wolf’s skull on top of his head.
Tasting Notes (Mine):
You don’t have to be a king, prince, or even a lowly pauper to enjoy this delicious hop-fueled brew. This is truly a beer for fans of the resinous, pine-flavored ingredient. On top of the obvious hop presence, this IPA also features hints of mandarin oranges, papaya, and fresh pineapple.
Trap Door Brewing – Issa Trap
ABV: 5.2%
The Story:
This New England-style pale ale is one of the most well-loved beer labels of all time for a reason. That’s because the can is adorned with the squid-looking Admiral Ackbar who uttered the infamous line “It’s a trap” in The Return of the Jedi. Brewed with double dry-hopped Galaxy, Cashmere, and Citra Hops, it’s an explosion on par with the destruction of the Death Star.
Tasting Notes (From The Brewery):
Double dry hopping gives this beer an added kick of hops while mellowing out the bitterness. It’s highly crushable, thirst-quenching, and full of sweet pineapple, pear, and sharp citrus flavors.
