SHOUT OUTS & AWARDS

L’Chaim Tillie!

It wasn’t the typical design crowd at the Palace of Wonders bar in Washington, D.C., last June, where Matt Polacheck was hosting the launch of two new beers. The sword swallower in attendance, for example, was discussing his new career choice of walking on nails. Polacheck, art director for Shmaltz Brewing Company, works with his college pal Jeremy Cowan, a beer brewer with a great shtick: HE’BREW, The Chosen Beer, with titles such as Rejewvenator and Messiah. The brewery’s newest craft lagers are named after Coney Island sideshow characters - The Human Blockhead, Sword Swallower, and Albino Python - as a tribute and partial fund-raiser for the nonprofit organization Coney Island USA, with illustrations drawn by tattoo artist Dave Wallin. This Halloween, Shmaltz will release Freaktoberfest, bearing a frightening image of the Coney Island mascot, Tillie. Wallin’s illustrations and Polacheck’s designs and direction strike just the right retro, iconoclastic note: which, like the beer itself, balances it mishegoss with chutzpah.

JAMES GADDY, Print Magazine

Behold, the 20 Coolest Beer Labels of All Time

FUNKY JEWBELATION - SHMALTZ BREWING COMPANY

He’brew Beers from Shmaltz Brewing Company, dubbed as “the chosen beer,” offer an endless line of puns and creative shtick. There’s a line of Star Trek beers, there’s Pastrami Pilsner, and there are beers ranging from Genesis to Messiah. But perhaps Funky Jewbelation takes the (chocolate babka) cake. Just look at this psychedelic, afro-sporting dude. L’Chaim, sucka.

Maxim Magazine

Craft Beer Labels Are As Interesting As The Brew

Fans of craft beer know the liquid poured into their pint glasses is a work of art. But what’s outside the bottle is just as lovingly created. Craft beers boast such inventive, artful packaging, the beer aisle has become a veritable grocery store gallery.

 “The craft beer industry is all about pushing boundaries,” explains Matt Polacheck, Art Director at Brooklyn-based Coney Island Brewing Company. The Coney Island Craft Lagers line features colorful, sideshow poster-inspired artwork. “ The brand combines current Coney Island sideshow performers who honor lost forms of American popular culture with fresh new takes on old brewing traditions to create a truly unique drinking experience.

 And while a striking label definitely woos buyers, the craft brew art movement isn’t all style and no substance.

 “The artwork has been a great way to get consumers to grab the bottles off the shelf,” Polacheck says. “But once they drink it, they realize that it’s not just about marketing – our devotion to the quality of the beer is what keeps the beer freaks and beer geeks coming back for more.”

AMBER RAY, The Art of the Six-pack

BRANDING & PACKAGING AWARDS

  • PLATINUM MEDAL

    Best Case (Creativity & Form)
    Shmaltz Brewing: SHTICK IN A BOX
    World Beer Championships: Global Packaging Awards

  • GOLD MEDAL

    Packaging, Market Positioning & Uniqueness
    Shmaltz Brewing: FUNKY JEWBELATION
    Beverage World: BevStar Award

  • GOLD MEDAL

    Best Case (Graphic Design)
    Shmaltz Brewing: SHTICK IN A BOX
    World Beer Championships: Global Packaging Awards

  • GOLD MEDAL

    Best Craft Brewer in America
    Coney Island Brewing Company
    Beverage World Magazine

  • GOLD MEDAL

    Best Paper Label
    Shmaltz Brewing: Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A.
    World Beer Championships: Global Packaging Awards

  • GOLD MEDAL

    Best 12 Pack Box
    Coney Island Brewing Company: Craft Lagers
    Beverage World Magazine: Global Packaging Awards

  • SILVER MEDAL

    Best 4 Pack Carrier
    Shmaltz Brewing: Hannukah Beer
    World Beer Championships: Global Packaging Awards