Beers have personalities too

Have you ever heard someone say “that looks like a fun beer”? I had this happen to me twice last week. The first time, my buddy mentioned he really likes the personality of Goose Island beers (full disclosure, I work for Goose and had given him some free beer; it’s possible it was the free talking). He explained that a lot of beer is the same, but for him, Goose beer was something he enjoyed having. The second time I heard this was from some other photographers when they were describing the pictures I take as ‘Beer Selfies.’

The my buddy’s comment was referring to a brand’s identity. Some brands use skate culture iconography to communicate what they stand for, others use traditional typefaces and wax seals to exude old world traditions, while others are bright and geometric and artistic to show the artistry contained within. A brand identity helps establish who this beer is for and on a crowded shelf full of stouts, dunkels, brown ales, pilsners, and rauchbier (what a glorious shelf!), having a brand that leans heavily on space fantasies can sell a beer to an engineer. The comment about an individual beer’s personality is this same idea on a micro level. Ideally each individual can’s personality is a contributing part of the brand’s identity, but sometimes it’s the seed of a new brand (al la Firestone Walker’s 805, New Belgium’s Voodoo Ranger, and Goose Island’s Beer Hug).

As a beer enthusiast and also a photographer, I love the art that's found on cans, especially when that art is saying something. I love finding beautiful scenes in the world, having great (tasting and looking) beer, and I love smashing them together to create something unique. To better organize this and challenge myself, I’ve started a personal photography project to collect beer selfies and create a portfolio. For each of these beers, there was something about them that resonated with me and there was something in the environment that I thought mirrored, contrasted, or otherwise complemented them. Using the mindset of imbuing the beer with a personality is a fun, new perspective I’m going to work on and see how this improves/changes my beer photography! Come along on this journey with me.