Cranberries = a punch in the face
At risk of forfeiting our manhood we have brewed a cranberry ale, which we are currently calling Pucker Punch. We thought a boxing analogy would trick everyone into thinking there was no fruit in it. I know everyone has been waiting on pins and needles for the next label to be revealed, especially after we received virtually no feedback on our Base Jumper Double IPA label. (Thanks. I knew it was perfect.) The quote for this latest brew is from Mark Twain:
Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.
So critique away, dear readers. And help us name our last outstanding experiment, our cream ale. We’ve had some good suggestions involving foamy mustaches and butter, but we’re still looking for that creamy gem hiding amongst the spoiled milk.
Jonathan, Joel & Jeff
April 11th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Still thinkin’ here. Cream is a good topic, but can be taken many different directions. When I hear cream, I think milk. When I think milk, I think cows. Cows + beer = cow tipping… a great urban legend. Cow Tipper Cream Ale? The quote could reference something like that it “takes more than 1 person to enjoy” etc.
April 11th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
Any chance you guys will have an RSS feed available soon?
April 11th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Sam: An oversight that has know (hopefully) been corrected. Let us know if it doesn’t work for you.
April 12th, 2007 at 7:13 am
The label concept looks good. I am just not a fan of the name “Pucker Punch”. To me it just isn’t in the same league as “Drafty Kilt” or “Swash chuckler”. Supposedly a common name for the cranberry is “Bog Cranberry”, I have never heard it called this but on the nccam.nih.gov site it says so and you can always trust the gov. Any ways how about something like “Bog-berry Ale”. It’s not that great but I thought I’d try to contribute.
April 12th, 2007 at 7:18 am
Stephen, we batted around the “Bog” idea as well. I think it could still work, and I like the Bog-berry concept. Thanks for the input.
April 12th, 2007 at 7:45 am
Guys, love the label for Base Jumper Double.. You know it’s the start of an interesting evening when the first beer you crack open has a picture of some dude jumping off a cliff with a parachute in tow… Well done, Jonathan, well done indeed.
April 12th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Dave: I’ve been mulling Cow Tipper Cream Ale over in my head for awhile and I have to say… I really like it. Maybe a farmer or something as the character?
April 12th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
A farmer could be excellent, perhaps a long goatee and worn straw hat (although that could bordering on hillbilly). I think of the farmer as the victim of mischievous cowtippers. My initial thoughts were of a silhouette of two troublemakers tip-toeing off in the distance with a heifer cow on it’s back. Utter nonsense I say! Just an idea. If you end up using the name, I am sure your creative juices can nail it.
By the way, I find your creative gene hilarious. The current labels are hilarious (I laughed out loud with Swashchuckler and the Christmas beer faux paux (sp?)). Certainly my kind of humor. By the way, what do you use to print your labels (label media, printing process, etc)? I’d love to know as I have to do mine this weekend.
My first home brew, an English Pale Ale, will be ready this weekend. My naming method considers the time and events that occurred during fermentation. I don’t aspire to be a brewmaster as a second career, so my batches will have more static references on the batch versus developing a long-standing recipe.
I am calling the first batch Shafer Pale Ale. Why, you ask? An excellent question and one I thought you might ask. I am a bowler by heart and I recently took the 200 mile Cincy to Indy round trip with my dad (and brewing partner) in order to be spectators of the ESPN-televised finals of the PBA Pro Bowlers Tours back in March. That same weekend we started fermentation of the English Pale Ale. Ryan Shafer, one of the pros bowling in the finals, shot a perfect 300 game. Certainly a memorable event! Thus, the name. Ryan might shed a tear if he knew. Don’t tell him though– I hate to see a grown man cry.
Anxiously waiting to see the cream ale decision.
–Dave
April 13th, 2007 at 9:28 am
After googling Cream Ale I learned that Cream Ales are one of the few authentic American styles. Do you feel a little Patriotic bend is needed? “Uncle Sam’s Brew for you” Cream Ale? Doesn’t have the same ring as Cow Tipper Cream Ale though. Just trying to add another idea to the creative process.
April 15th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
[...] We’ve finally reached some consensus on a name/label for our cream ale. A very special thanks goes out to Dave for developing the name and concept. The only negative feedback we’ve received thus far has been from Andy, who can’t get it out of his head that this is not what cows looked like when they’re tipped over. And so, I write Andy a rebuttal: Dear Andy, [...]