The Beer Circle » Grand Teton Brewing Co., Labels » Grand Teton Brewing – 2010 Art of Beer Contest
Grand Teton Brewing – 2010 Art of Beer Contest
Grand Teton Brewing Company has been brewing beer since 1988. It was founded by Charlie and Ernie Otto as Otto Brothers’ Brewing Company, which was the first modern “micro” brewery in the state of Wyoming. In 1992, Otto Brothers’ Brewing Company opened Wyoming’s first brewpub in Wilson, Wyoming, and also began bottling in 22oz. The demand for their beer continued to grow so the brothers broke ground in 1998 in Victor, Idaho, for what is now their current brewery. This facility boosted capacity to 10,000 barrels annually and also added a 12oz bottling line. The proximity of locally-grown barley, Northwest hops, and glacier water made this a great location for a brewery. To reflect the importance of the local ingredients, the brewery changed their name of the GTBC in 2000. They definitely are not a national brand but you are able to order from a number of online beer stores.
From the beginning, Grand Teton has been very involved in the local community: donating beer, employees’ time and their facility to many local groups to enable them to spread the word about their good work. Taking this one step further, Grand Teton came up with the Art of Beer Contest in 2010. They involved the local Teton Arts Council to create a contest where local artists could submit works to be used as the basis for Grand Teton beer labels
There were 4 winners in the contest but only 3 were featured as Grand Teton labels:
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2010 Coming Home Holiday Ale | Tail Waggin’ Double White |
Artist: Kelly Sullivan | Artist: Sarah Lott |
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Trout Hop Black IPA | |
Artist: Abby Paffrath | Artist: Megan Hanson Powers |
Breweries don’t involve local artists purely for altruistic reasons. It is an extension of a brewery’s involvement in the local community that also fits into the brewery’s plan and branding. That isn’t always something that is easy to accomplish. “There is a slight lack on consistency in branding when local artist create the labels, which is why we are not continuing this program as of right now” said Julie Levy, Grand Teton’s Communications Manager. They are abandoning the idea but plan to bring it back for special releases in the future. I hope that, perhaps, the Coming Home series will feature a local artist that works closely with Grand Teton’s Graphic Designer to ensure a branding consistency.
Filed under: Grand Teton Brewing Co., Labels · Tags: Coming Home Holiday Ale, Grand Teton Brewing Co., Labels, Tail Waggin' Double White, Trail Hop Black IPA
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