Three interesting labels

Well my first blog in a week or so as I've been a bit busy, but I've had three ales which I think are trying with their labelling to really attract the ‘trendy’ ale drinker. So this is a blog reviewing three of these ales and also for what it’s worth I'm going to comment on their labelling more than usual.

Flat Cap Ted, 5.0%

First of all there’s been some comment over the blogosphere about Flat Cap beers business model where they are more a purveyor of beers rather than a brewer as they get other breweries to produce it, and their use of the word ‘craft’. Frankly I don’t really care that much, there is a certain appeal to the thought of a small brewer producing great ales independently but if you don’t want to sink cash into a brewery and other breweries have spare capacity it makes sense and as long as the quality of the ale is intact, I do not see why it matters. 

It’s interesting to look at who Flat Cap are aiming this beer at because I’m struggling to understand the label, it’s a pop art style image of a man in a flat cap laughing who’s then described as some kind of spy in the following text;

 ‘Born to Russian immigrant parents TED grafted his way to Cambridge where after achieving a double first in Enigmatology he was recruited by MI5. Caught in a compromising position in the Urals whilst turning the KGB agent ‘goat’, TED’s life took a surreal twist.’

I like the idea of giving the ale a character to give a personality to the beer, so good idea, but the execution is slightly wrong for me as the picture and the text do not marry up, the picture should be more suave to match the image of a spy. When you’re in one of the quite trendy ale emporiums like the Powder Keg, the Dean Swift, or one of the Draft Houses that are springing up all over London, and you are presented with a fridge of different bottled ales or a menu of ales I do not think this design or name is going to stand out and nobody will read the text.

So onto the ale itself, it’s a British Pale Ale with a honey aroma, plenty of toffee and spice with a biscuit malt and a long bitter finish, I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite all the somewhat unusual imagery on the label this ale has traction and is a good base for Flat Cap, 7/10.

Batch 9: The Black Lager, 5.0%

Batch Brew are a new microbrewery based in Winchester, this is their flagship brew and the first one they created, bottle conditioned and pitch black in colour this is almost in the style of Budvar dark rather than a Carling so don’t be put off by the word ‘lager’. The use of lager in the description is interesting and in contrast to the flat cap I think the branding here is very slick both on the label and website. The label is very distinctive and I like giving each ‘Batch’ or different beer a number, they have a Batch 16 (Wheat Beer) and a Batch 18 (Pale Ale) which I have in my cupboard to be reviewed in the future with identical labelling but different colour. I wonder how the number is decided, is it arbitrary? or is it the number of Batches that they are on?

Onto the beer itself, a nice tan head with vanilla/cream malt on the nose, dark roasted malt, quite a lot of fizz and a short dry finish without any real bitterness, really refreshing, 7.25/10.

Emma Says: ‘sweet, pruney with a bitter finish’

Blue Monkey Guerrilla, 4.8%

The Blue Monkey brewery hails from Ilkeston in the Midlands and the name originates from flickering blue flames which used to emerge from the towns industrial furnaces which were known as ‘Blue Monkeys’. The labelling on Blue Monkey beers is again a pop art style image but one which syncs more with the beer than that used by Flat Cap, all Blue Monkey beers have a monkey on them as this is the Guerrilla it has a nice Che Guevara style beret.

The Guerrilla has been awarded several awards including SIBA national stout champion 2010. They describe it as a revolutionary stout and I can see why it has won awards. Rich roast coffee malt on the nose, a stout full of complexity reinforced with a strong but not overpowering bitter finish, excellent, 8/10

Emma Says: ‘rich coffee smell, tastes it nearly spits it out, that was awful’. She doesn't like stouts much.

In terms of branding here I think Batch Brew have really nailed it both in terms of the label and their website, Blue Monkey also have interesting design, but I think Flat Cap need to tweak there’s a bit.