Over in San Francisco the folks at Huckberry continue to make moves. From experimenting with physical spaces to introducing an ever-growing stream of collaboration products, the retailer is driven by a thirst to stay fresh. As such, it comes as no surprise to learn of their new collaboration with Danish brewery Mikkeller, known for its inventive beers and wildly vivid packaging design.
The Blue Hour Gose ale (named for the period of twilight when the sun is still below the horizon, casting everything is cast in a hazy indigo hue) is the hero of this story, with supporting characters including a rather badass looking growler made by Miir and a classic foam koozie to a graphic T and limited-edition print. Huckberry describes the beer as “crushable,” with “a slightly tart and massively flavorful profile” that makes it “the perfect beer to enjoy at the end of a long day of getting out there and seeing a bit of the world — whether that’s a corner of your backyard you’ve never looked at closely before or a mountain peak you’re checking off your bucket list.”
That sounds tasty. And it is—we recently had the pleasure of sessioning a couple that were sent out to Field Mag HQ a couple weeks back. But we’re not beer snobs, nor is this a beer blog, so we’ll keep the “review” at that, and instead focus on the rad art that has helped make Mikkeller so dang recognizable.
Art Director Keith Shore is the man at Mikkeller. In the nine years since the American illustrator first signed on as freelance illustrator to create a single bottle label, Shore and Mikkeller have created over 500 label designs, largely from his 120-square-foot Amish-built backyard studio at Shore’s home outside Philadelphia.
When the partnership began far fewer brews were wrapped in what anyone would call art—today it’s the norm. And it wouldn’t be a stretch to thank this seemingly perfect partnership for it.
Published 10-03-2018