2012 BYO Label Contest Winners
One event that never gets old for the BYO staff is the annual label contest. Each year we all look forward to seeing what homebrewers have come up with for designs for their cherished homebrews. From the handdrawn to the computer designed (and this year to the hand-stiched), the label contest is a fun way for homebrewers to express their creativity outside of the bottle. This year we sorted through hundreds of entries to find our favorites: a beer fit for a French Canadian beast, a Ukrainian design made entirely from needlepoint, a label for a brew to honor a great dog, and finally a label that any “C” hop lover can appreciate.
Thank you to everyone who entered this year, we had a great time choosing this year’s winning designs, which wasn’t an easy task. Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to our sponsors for providing all of the great prizes. And for all of you homebrew artists out there, start thinking about what your next designs will be — next year will come around sooner than you think!
GRAND
KRIS MERRILL • Sandy, Utah
Kris’ top-winning design is for a beer that he and his friend Baker made for a friend’s birthday, La bête noire de cerise — the black cherry beast. “With some research I found that black cherries grow near the French speaking area of Canada, so the name got to En Français. I got a kick out of coming up with the mythology of ‘the beast.’”
PRIZES
Gift certificate from Northern Brewer; Stainless steel double draft tower from HomeBrewStuff.com; Gift certificate from Midwest Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies; 30 qt. brew kettle from Polar Ware Company; Gift certificate from Bader Beer & Wine Supply; BrewLab from LaMotte Company; Gift certificate from Quality Wine and Ale Supply.
GOLD
THOMAS CRAWFORD • Tallahassee, Florida
Thomas is not only a homebrewer, he is also adept at needlepoint. “My mom and sister taught me in the late 1970s and it has been a source of stress relief ever since. I have always wanted to incorporate my love of beer into my craft,” he said of his kvass label.
PRIZES
Gift certificate from Midwest Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies; 30 qt. brew kettle from Polar Ware Company; BrewLab from LaMotte Company; Gift certificate from Quality Wine and Ale Supply; Neoprene growler cozy from HomeBrewStuff.com
SILVER
JASON FERSTER • Englewood, Colorado
Jason’s design is part of a series of labels made in honor of his pack of dogs: Tessa, Sasha and Nanook. Tessa is “named after our Harlequin Great Dane, Tessa.” The background image is a figure ground (black and white image) profile of a Harlequin Great Dane.
PRIZES
Gift certificate from Midwest Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies; 30 qt. brew kettle from Polar Ware Company; Gift certificate from Brew Your Own Brew and Wine; Gift certificate from Quality Wine and Ale Supply; Neoprene bottle cozy from HomeBrewStuff.com
BRONZE
ERIC MILOT • Dayville, Connecticut
The name of Eric’s beer, of which this label was created for, is inspired by the Citra® and Cascade hops he used for flavor, aroma and dry hopping. “The artwork is inspired by my love of hops as a major hophead when it comes to my choice in beers.”
PRIZES
Gift certificate from Midwest Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies; Designing Great Beers book and 1 oz. Cascade hops from Above The Rest Homebrewing Supplies; Gift certificate from Maryland Homebrew; Gift certificate from Quality Wine and Ale Supply; Neoprene bottle cozy from HomeBrewStuff.com
HONORABLE MENTION
Aaron Winey • Warsaw, Indiana
Prize
Gift certificate from Quality Wine and Ale Supply
HONORABLE MENTION
Andy Swaggerty • Greenville, North Carolina
Prize
Tap Board marker from myLHBS.com
HONORABLE MENTION
Andy Wilhite • El Cajon, California
Prize
Gift certificate from Original Home Brew Outlet
HONORABLE MENTION
Brad Eaton • Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Prize
Gift certificate from High Gravity
HONORABLE MENTION
Brian Miller • Sonora, California
Prize
Gift certificate from Hop Tech Home Brewing Supplies
HONORABLE MENTION
Craig Werkheiser • Wescosville, Pennsylvania
Prize
Gift certificate from Homebrew4less.com LLC
HONORABLE MENTION
Eddie L. Angleton • Indianapolis, Indiana
Prize
Gift certificate from Quality Wine and Ale Supply
HONORABLE MENTION
Heath Gelinas • Vernon, CT
Prize
Gift certificate from Quality Wine and Ale Supply
HONORABLE MENTION
John B. McDonald • Shady Shores, Texas
Prize
The Beer Book from Home Brew Party
HONORABLE MENTION
Joshua A. Webb • Murrieta, California
Prize
Thermometer from Hobby Beverage Equipment
HONORABLE MENTION
Matt Thomas • Pearland, Texas
Prize
Gift certificate from High Gravity
HONORABLE MENTION
Mike Person/Sean Ryan • Elgin, Illinois
Prize
Gift certificate from Home Brew Ohio
HONORABLE MENTION
Rich Lindeman • Atlanta, Georgia
Prize
Gift certificate from The Flying Barrel
HONORABLE MENTION
Ryan DeLutis • Lancaster, PA
Prize
Gift certificate from TheBeerTapStore.com
HONORABLE MENTION
Shane Dubay • Chicago, Illinois
Prize
Gift certificate from Leeners
HONORABLE MENTION
Steve Pribek • Hales Corners, Wisconsin
Prize
Gift certificate from Shrivers Pharmacy
HONORABLE MENTION
Todd McCallister • San Diego, California
Prize
Gift certificate from Bader Beer & Wine Supply
HONORABLE MENTION
Tomer Ronen • Sderot, Israel
Prize
Hop Lover’s Guide, 250 Classic Clone Recipes and 25 Great Homebrew Projects from Brew Your Own
EDITORS CHOICE
Bryan Llewellyn
EDITORS CHOICE
David & Tomas Jirku
EDITORS CHOICE
Jeremy Northwood
EDITORS CHOICE
Joel Runnels & Ben Strahan
EDITORS CHOICE
Leah Dienes
EDITORS CHOICE
Matt Bedell
EDITORS CHOICE
Pamela Pillar
EDITORS CHOICE
Sarina Roth & John Rowley
EDITORS CHOICE
Travis Savchenko
