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Traditionally celebrated on 1st November, the Day of the Dead has come a little earlier with Victoria’s Cavalier Brewing’s “Bloody Maria Imperial Gose Michelada” designed by Jason Burton taking home the Orora Golden Can Trophy in this year’s GABS Can Design Awards!

152 of Australia’s most exciting Craft Breweries entered this year’s competition and the level of art is nothing short of phenomenal as brands take the fight over first impressions on retail shelves across the country. There are colours across the full spectrum and designs literally from out of this world. Hidden visual references and features from the very regions the beer is brewed in. Worlds of monsters, mythology, science fiction, witchcraft and everything in between!

After the people’s choice vote, it was over to the panel of diverse brand expert judges who had an incredibly difficult job of evaluating the ten finalists across six different categories (visual & aesthetic appeal, creativity & originality, impact, brand identity, usability & messaging and design brief).

Queensland took out silver with Black Hops’ British India Pale Ale (Jamie Browne) and NSW the bronze with Buckettys Brewing Co’s Tawny Grogmouth (Brent Turner).

Top designs in each state were SA – Big Shed Brewing Concern Vicious Evolution, WA – Rocky Ridge Brewing Co You Wouldn’t Download a Beer, ACT – Capital Brewing Co West Coast NEIPA, TAS – Spotty Dog Brewers Simcoe IPA and NT – Alice Springs Brewing Co Supercali Fragili STOUT Expiala Docious.

Head over to what is being acknowledged as the best virtual craft brewery can design art gallery in Australia to get a true reflection on just beautiful the cans of some of your favourite breweries are.

“It’s fantastic to see just how talented the designers in the industry are, just a few years ago beer can designs could easily have been considered fairly boring, today they’re an artist’s blank CANvas! Along with all our campaign partners, we couldn’t be more proud to be playing our part in sharing the love of craft beer and to celebrating our incredible industry!” – Mike Bray, GABS Craft Beer Festival.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

WINNER

Bloody Maria Imperial Gose Michelada
Cavalier Brewing (VIC)
Imperial Gose Michelada

Based on the Brief & Style of the Beer, the design needed to be as bright, vibrant and colourful as the occasion it represented. The festival of the dead – Dia De Los Muertos is a huge celebration of life, and death, and “Bloody Maria” herself is the manifestation of that celebration. Colours and hues of Red, Orange, yellow and black invoke feelings of fire, energy and life. Much like the flavours represented in the beer inside the can, the punchy tomato, the zesty citrus zing, the salt, pepper and chilli spiciness and Tromba Tequila – that brings the gorgeous base Gose to life!

SECOND

British India Pale Ale
Black Hops Brewery (QLD)
British IPA

The goal for the design was to incorporate the positive vibe and experience that Crafted Festival provides to both fans and Breweries around Australia. With the festival being held on the Gold Coast, it was imperative that the vibrant beach landscape was touched on in the design as it brings warmth to the can and also springs to mind the warmer months on the horizon.

THIRD

Tawny Grogmouth
Buckettys Brewing Co (NSW)
Pale Ale

For the Tawny Grogmouth 2.0 design, Brent used some of his older techniques and paired it with 90s surf wear aesthetic where you’d typically get crazy patterns, erratic shapes and crazy bright colours. Brent wanted to take cues from this style and see if it would translate well into a beer can shape. The finished design resulted in a really erratic, fun, colourful composition that took on an almost psychedelic stained glass appearance.

FINALISTS 4 TO 10

4. Astro Punk XPA
Blackflag Brewing (QLD)
XPA

Hey siri what is Astro punk? As we sit here in a world full of technological advances such as hover boards, the rise of sky net and self-aware robots. XPA is a celebration of our achievements of a carbon free world, no hatred of race and the voice of the many being heard. We are celebrating the social equality and that no woman or man now goes without, due to wealth and opportunity. Cheers to the peaceful world with no war and no comprehension of hate. It’s an Astro punk world with the anarchy solving all that is wrong. Peace.

5. Hush Little Baby Voodoo Imperial Stout
Brick Lane Brewing (VIC)
Imperial Stout

Each year we release three limited edition imperial stouts called Trilogy Of Fear. Trilogy Of Fear invites the drinker to face their fears. The 500ml cans of darkness emphasise the deep, bold liquid of our imperial stouts. Tapping into this dark, horror-centric theme, Hush Little Baby is everything you fear about the dark side of voodoo. The curse of the voodoo doll is inspired by the Cyprus wood Hush Little Baby was aged in. The Cyprus tree used was sourced from the Bayous of the Southern United States, the home of voodoo.

6. Vicious: Evolution
Big Shed Brewing Concern (SA)
Coconut Mango Smoothie Sour

The theory of evolution has always been a heavily debated topic. Darwin’s evolution claim was considered explosive and controversial when first published. This beer, smoothie, or whatever you call it, is no different. There’ll be doubters, there’ll be non-believers and then there will be you, proving them all wrong.

7. You Wouldn’t Download A Beer
Rocky Ridge Brewing Co (WA)
Hazy IPA with Citra, Galaxy & Mosaic

We had a vision, a dream even, to create a beer based of the iconic VHS anti-piracy advert. After hearing this, Ethan who was in his first week designing for Rocky Ridge, decided F*ck it, lets bring It to life! The beer had to call back to this premise but we also wanted someone to be actually have the ability to download a beer, this is how ‘You Wouldn’t Download a Beer’ was born. We included a unique QR code on each can that allowed people to “Download A Beer” that they could redeem at our venue. A very fun concept and super engaging for punters!

8. Bucket Full Of Nothin’
Balter Brewing (QLD)
Hazy IIPA

What do you get when you throw all the hops in the brew? A Bucket Full of Nothin’ and a beer full of flavour. The best partnerships happen when each side brings something different to create a beautiful anomaly not possible otherwise. One example of that mad magic is a collaboration beer between brewers Balter and Mountain Culture called A Bucket Full of Nothin’. Made for Balter’s 5th anniversary, the Double Hazy IPA first came to beer lovers’ lips at the Sydney GABS festival a while back, where Balter blasted through their only keg of it in 10 minutes using 280ml glasses. It was the most popular beer they’d ever poured at a beer festival and eventually won the People’s Choice Award. Now, the twin brewers have reunited for a release in limited-edition cans.

9. Walk Between Raindrops
Hop Nation Brewing Co (VIC)
Hazy IPA

A Totoro spoof with him as a hop. My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film. Totoro is a woodland creature who eats acorns. Neither a bear nor a giant racoon, Totoro is a kind of loveable blunderbuss that gives the characters in the film magic and love when they are missing their invalid mother. He’s the kind of imaginary friend we all wished we had.

10. Corowa Conspiracy
3 Ravens Brewery (VIC)
Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

The inspiration for this series came from 1960s and 1970s occult literature, old diagrams of UFOs, esoteric symbolism and witchcraft. There are also heaps of references to in-jokes and pop culture references in the design – see if you can spot them all!

TOP DESIGNS IN EACH STATE

VIC

CAVALIER BREWING – Bloody Maria

BRICK LANE BREWING CO – Hush Little Baby Voodoo Imperial Stout

HOP NATION – Walk Between Raindrops

NSW

BUCKETTY’S BREWING CO – Tawny Grogmouth

YOUNG HENRYS – 10 Years Strong

FLAMIN GALAH – Kolsch

QLD

BLACK HOPS – British India Pale Ale

BLACKFLAG – Astro Punk XPA

BALTER NREWING X MOUNTAIN CULTURE – Bucket full of nothin’

SA

BIG SHED BREWING CONCERN – Vicious Evolution

PIRATE LIFE – Nectaron + Idaho Gem IIPA

LITTLE BANG BREWING CO – Fudgebeast

WA

ROCKY RIDGE – You wouldn’t download a beer

WILSON BREWING CO – Siren Song

GAGE ROADS BREW CO – After Hours

ACT

CAPITAL BREWING CO – West Coast NEIPA

BENTSPOKE BREWING CO – Descent 22

TAS

SPOTTY DOG BREWERS – Simcoe IPA

URSA MAJOR BEER – Analysis Paralysis

COMMUNION BREWING CO – Nutters Beer

NT

ALICE SPRINGS BREWING CO – Supercali Fragili STOUT Expiala Docious