The Beer Circle » Deschutes Brewery, Labels » Deschutes Jubelale Label – Background and Artist Info
Deschutes Jubelale Label – Background and Artist Info
Many breweries have taken the concept of beer labels beyond the basic branding to involve local artists and giving them the freedom to design labels that are simply an extension of the artist’s craft and style.
Deschutes Brewery takes that latter approach with their Jubelale winter beer. Jubelale first debuted back in 1988. Ed Carson, Deschutes’ graphic artist, designed the original label which consisted of a wreath incorporated into their basic oval label with the serpentine river. This served well for a few years; in 1995, Deschutes commissioned a local artist, George Lawerence, to create the label: a snow-covered pine branch & cone. Little did they know that they were creating a tradition that would continue until this day . “It’s certainly the most expensive thing we do in terms of packaging,” Gary Fish, Deschutes’ President said, “but people expect it and the artists love it — I don’t think we could stop if we wanted to.” At the finish to the brewery tour, one is treated to the full-size paintings of every label. Deschutes has a great wrap-up of each of the artists’ styles.
One might think that creating a label would be a simple and quick process. But it isn’t. Tracy Leagjeld, the artist behind the 2009 label, worked with the brewery and their advertising agency for 9 months to come up with the final design: the sun breaking out behind snow-covered trees in the forest. “One of my favorite things about Central Oregon winters is how often we wake up to blue skies after a winter storm,” said Leagjeld. “In this painting, I was trying to convey the feeling of a crisp snowy morning being warmed by the sun’s rays, and how lucky we are to have the Deschutes National Forest as our backyard playground.”
Artist List
1995: George Lawerence,
1996: Cristina Acosta
1997: Randy Redfield
1998: Paul Alan Bennett
1999: Susan Luckey Higdon
2000: Dennis McGregor
2001: John Hilmer
2002: Douglas Campbell Smith
2003: Molly Cliff Hilts
2004: Kathleen Powers
2005: Andrew Sewell
2006: Katherine Taylor
2007: Lindy G. Hanson
2008: Pam Jersey Bird
2009: Tracy Leagjeld
2010: Natasha Bacca
2011: Cara Thayer and Louie Van Patten
Filed under: Deschutes Brewery, Labels · Tags: Art, Deschutes Brewery, Jubelale, Labels
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