Looking for the original Bar Towel blog? You can find it at www.thebartowel.com.

We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.

Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!

Sexiest Beer Labels in Canada

Discuss beer or anything else that comes to mind in here.

Moderators: Craig, Cass

chris_schryer
Posts: 239
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2010 2:06 am

Sexiest Beer Labels in Canada

Post by chris_schryer »

Hey guys,
For a bit of light reading, and honestly, as clickbait, I threw together a list of the 8 sexiest beer labels in Canada. Post is here:
http://www.torontobeerblog.com/beer-new ... ls-canada/
Thought the crew around here might dig it, and maybe want to add to it?
C

rejtable
Bar Fly
Posts: 632
Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2010 2:05 pm

Post by rejtable »

Dulcis is my fave by far in this category.

Not a fan of that specific DDC one, but to each their own of course.

The Middle Ages Double Wench label fit into this conversation nicely.

User avatar
Derek
Beer Superstar
Posts: 3192
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 2:11 pm
Location: Kelowna, BC
Contact:

Post by Derek »

Tree's Beach Blonde tap handles really stand out:

Image

(especially at that size!)

There's also the DDC Aphrodisiaque (Aphrodite).

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

"No Artificial Additives" in that blonde!
In Beerum Veritas

icemachine
Beer Superstar
Posts: 2637
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2007 11:20 am
Location: Aurora, ON
Contact:

Post by icemachine »

Yup Aphrodisiaque label would definitely be on that list for me.
"Everything ... is happening" - Bob Cole

User avatar
Tapsucker
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1910
Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2006 6:21 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by Tapsucker »

I really thought the beer geek scene stopped being such a boy's club, especially when I see so many girls at beer events and in beer bars nowadays.

I guess they don't waste their time looking at labels. :wink:

So are these labels the craft version of the beach bimbo ads the majors run to sell suds? Low budget misogyny?

I'm not saying it's not nice artwork, just thinking about the motivation and target audience here. Oh wait, I did say beer geek. :o
Brands are for cattle.
Fans are cash cows.
The herd will consume until consumed.

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Tapsucker wrote:I really thought the beer geek scene stopped being such a boy's club, especially when I see so many girls at beer events and in beer bars nowadays.

I guess they don't waste their time looking at labels. :wink:

So are these labels the craft version of the beach bimbo ads the majors run to sell suds? Low budget misogyny?
Here's one for 'everyone else':
Image
^ I don't really feel exploited by this but I do respect that women hate feeling objectified, it's a shitty way to make a person feel. I hope there's room for some tolerable sex appeal in labels for both (or however many) genders.

The Unibroue Maudite guy (also winged) looks more like Satan, in case that is dehumanizing & descriminatory misandry... which I doubt.
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Tapsucker
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1910
Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2006 6:21 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by Tapsucker »

Belgian wrote: ^ I don't really feel exploited by this but I do respect that women hate feeling objectified, it's a shitty way to make a person feel. I hope there's room for some tolerable sex appeal in labels for both (or however many) genders.

The Unibroue Maudite guy (also winged) looks more like Satan, in case that is dehumanizing & descriminatory misandry... which I doubt.
I'm sure most adults can look at a sexy image and not immediately feel objectified. Nice pictures also celebrate beauty.

My question has more to do with what kind of marketing brewers are resorting to. For years, brewers were (quite accurately) bashed for using dumb sexist marketing, promises of virility, glorified lifestyle promises, etc. to pass off crap beer. I just hope that now we have raised the general standard of beer out there we might see the craft sector raise the bar on it's image building. Some of the labels shown here are undoubtedly done as ironic nostalgia to attract hipsters, but still... Will a Beau's hot air balloon with bikini clad crew be showing up at Wakestock soon? :roll:

I will admit, making a fuss over this seems silly given some of the incredibly stupid gimmicks we see in the craft industry. Goofy names, labels etc. For every brilliant beer with a creative brand or story, there seems to also be a dumb dorm room mess on offer. Rogue’s idiotic bacon donut thingy from a few years back comes to mind…
Brands are for cattle.
Fans are cash cows.
The herd will consume until consumed.

User avatar
Torontoblue
Beer Superstar
Posts: 2136
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2004 6:12 pm
Location: Edmonton via Toronto via The Wirral

Post by Torontoblue »

Tapsucker wrote:I really thought the beer geek scene stopped being such a boy's club, especially when I see so many girls at beer events and in beer bars nowadays.

I guess they don't waste their time looking at labels. :wink:

So are these labels the craft version of the beach bimbo ads the majors run to sell suds? Low budget misogyny?

I'm not saying it's not nice artwork, just thinking about the motivation and target audience here. Oh wait, I did say beer geek. :o
You'll blow a gasket at these then :wink:

Image

Image

Kel Varnsen
Bar Fly
Posts: 641
Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 9:25 am
Location: Ottawa

Post by Kel Varnsen »

Tapsucker wrote: I will admit, making a fuss over this seems silly given some of the incredibly stupid gimmicks we see in the craft industry. Goofy names, labels etc. For every brilliant beer with a creative brand or story, there seems to also be a dumb dorm room mess on offer. Rogue’s idiotic bacon donut thingy from a few years back comes to mind…
Seriously, I will take a cartoon label of a scantily clad girl (or guy) over another stupid beer with another stupid hop based pun any day.

User avatar
cratez
Beer Superstar
Posts: 2284
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:29 pm
Location: Brantford, Ontario
Contact:

Post by cratez »

Belgian wrote:"No Artificial Additives" in that blonde!
Belgian wrote: Here's one for 'everyone else':
Torontoblue wrote: You'll blow a gasket at these then :wink:
LOL! Best thread I've seen on here in a while.
"Bar people do not live as long as vegan joggers. However, they have more fun." - Bruce Elliott

atomeyes
Beer Superstar
Posts: 2153
Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2011 1:39 pm

Post by atomeyes »

yeah, i'd hope that both consumers and breweries would be above using sex to sell/buy beer.
bad enough that "cockpuncher" and, well, all of Sawdust city's beer exist name-wise.

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

I guess there's a line to cross where it's overt and kind of crass, versus when it's just cute or incidentally a nice looking person/image.

What's worse than any of this is the misguided sanitizing of everything by regulations and censorship, which sometimes goes too far rather than doing anything useful. Like the silly gags and gimmicks in a novelty store, we can tolerate the things we find distasteful and can choose not to buy them.

I don't think ciilization is coming to an end for beer labels, which are traditionally given a lot of freedom to be low brow and silly.
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
saints_gambit
Bar Fly
Posts: 652
Joined: Mon May 31, 2010 2:38 pm
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Contact:

Post by saints_gambit »

Torontoblue wrote:
Tapsucker wrote:I really thought the beer geek scene stopped being such a boy's club, especially when I see so many girls at beer events and in beer bars nowadays.

I guess they don't waste their time looking at labels. :wink:

So are these labels the craft version of the beach bimbo ads the majors run to sell suds? Low budget misogyny?

I'm not saying it's not nice artwork, just thinking about the motivation and target audience here. Oh wait, I did say beer geek. :o
You'll blow a gasket at these then :wink:

Image

Image
Right up there with "Oi, Sheila, you slaaaaag!" Pilsner.
saintjohnswort.ca

chris_schryer
Posts: 239
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2010 2:06 am

Post by chris_schryer »

Wow, I'm glad that this has generated some decent chatter!

I actually honestly did give some time and thought to throwing in a dude or two, but came up short. In retrospect, Eau Benite, Long Dong, and a couple of others I was reminded of would all have fit the bill. It's just a lot easier to find tits on the internet.

In terms of the acceptability, the real problem is that in the wide grey area, objectification is in the eye of the beholder. So, for example, the label for Equinoixe du Printemps is probably the one that most celebrates female beauty, and least encourages the consumer to think of the object as a one-dimensional sex object. Which is actually part of the reason that it is so sexy, in my mind. On the other hand some of the labels linked to here (which I can't help enjoying, at least for their humour value) are the exact opposite, stripping away (literally and figuratively) all but the most basic sexual elements of the woman. It is honestly hard to "enjoy" those labels in any other context, even the humourous one I mentioned, because no matter what, you're treating a woman as a "thing" (albeit a fictitious one). Dulcis is another very different example. Here we have an image of a literal fantasy. Objectification and lack of depth is basically inferred.

I suppose it's a matter of what you do with the image. If the image reinforces a culturally supported sense that the norm is for women to be "things" which exist mainly as providers of sexual pleasure (whether directly/physically, or else through "consumption" eg viewing them, fantasizing about them, etc), then that is bad. And really, as I very casually allude to, one might have a "little house on the prairie" kink, in which case, a fairly innocuous drawing of a fairly homely woman could lead to that.

Because that is out of the hands of the brewery (a necrophiliac might get a boner because of the boneshaker label), I guess it's the responsibility of the brewery to decide when and how they use a woman's image to sell their beer. And we also have the ability to support or protest them, both directly, via open easy contact in our fanatastical world of instant connections via social media, and indirectly by simply not buying beers that we take as offensive.

Looking back over my list, I would honestly say that DDC, Great Lakes and Picaroon's (obviously) are all firmly in the "okay" camp. If you take the dolphin and sword in the Sawdust/Fred label as phallic symbols (and believe me, that's not a big leap) then it is probably the only one firmly in the "pure objectification" side, though one must also consider the fact the Alison Brie herself retweeted the picture; it might be offensive to others, even many, but it wasn't to her. The others are in that sticky grey area, though I would think Paddock Wood is probably the most innocent, and honestly, Red Racer is probably the "worst". But there is the fact: that's my opinion, and maybe not anyone else's.

In terms of marketing and sex and craft brewing, it's already here, and if you subscribe to the theory that we are multiple years behind the US in all things beer, then it will get worse before it gets better.

Triple Bogey — who I like — has smartly identified a niche in a niche, if you will. Dudes who spend lots of time on golf courses with minimal ability to enjoy beers they don't (illegally) pack in themselves represent enough of a chunk of the market to make a brand for. That a brewery didn't just do it themselves is a bit shocking. It definitely helps that Geoff already had ins at most golf courses from his experience as a clothing producer, but still. He has created a brand the fits golf and golf courses perfectly. He will pick up bar business where he can, but it's easy to focus most of his energy on golf-based business.

So what is to stop somebody from doing the same with sexuality? At every event I've been too since I started getting really into the craft scene, in addition to the round-bellied bearded men, there has nearly always been a contingent of dudes with girls wearing less than I hope my daughter ever wears outside of a bedroom. These are guys who are obviously okay with a bit of skin. In fact, at Beau's Oktoberfest last year there was a guy there both days wearing a different branded Brazzers shirt each day. These are people who would buy "Two for the pink; one for the stink pale ale" or "Money-shot Mild" or "Trophy Wife RIS" all with appropriately sexualized labels.

As the market becomes more and more flooded with gateway or simple or mediocre beers to appeal to the brand-loyal drinkers who have dropped their loyalty, that group will all have to find a way to define their clientele and sell to them. And somebody will do it (probably a few) with boobies. Related, but quite different, there have already been attempts at female-friendly brands which (thankfully) have all gone nowhere, but again, as more and more drinkers with different ideas of acceptable marketing enter the market, look for beer with cutesie names, and blatant "feminized" labels. For proof you only have to look at the sale of wine.

There's a reason hipsters only liked things before they were popular......

Post Reply