The beer shelf of years past was packed with labels highlighting specific styles or even specific ingredients. Today, you’re just as likely to see Pool Beer, Golf Beer, Dad Beer, or Friday Beer.
Increasingly, breweries appear to be centering beers on specific occasions and on what drinkers can expect to experience.
“Customers are looking at beer less academically than in the past,” says Jillian Noble, a former design professor and the founder and CCO of Elbongurk Design, which specializes in branding and design for craft food and drink. “We used to want to know what malt was used and compare hops we liked. … That’s less now. More people are interested in beers communicating where, when, and how.”