For a few months every year, our office becomes the epicenter of the homebrew universe. That’s how it feels, anyway. Every day, the UPS man arrives with boxes and the mailbox is crammed with envelopes. While these Label Contest entries may not exactly come from far-flung galaxies, they definitely
represent the reaches of our own homebrew planet!

As always, our sixth annual competition of creativity and wit drew an impressive response. Hundreds of homebrewers from 32 states, not to mention Sweden and the Marshall Islands,  submitted their finest creations. The UPS guy thought for sure we were getting free beer, especially when he found us hovering over a table strewn with beer bottles, arguing the merits of humor versus actual artistic talent.

The packages contained a plethora of colorful labels. We saw the usual line-up of animals — both domestic and wild — and the familiar baby-theme creations, like “Diaper Pale Ale.” We also received an unusual array of bottles bedecked with odd  accessories, including tiny shells, a rabbit’s foot, a ceramic red-hot chili pepper and a toy magnifying glass.

Judging the contest is no easy task. Our guidelines are surpassingly strict: Basically, we argue for a few hours until we settle on a compromise. Some of you seem to feel our choices are arbitrary. Nonsense! They are merely whimsical.

We do have one helpful hint for the legions of label artistes who are fond of depicting bare-naked ladies in compromising positions. In a word, that advice is “no.” Hey, this is a family magazine. Isn’t it?

Without further ado, we present the winners of our Sixth Annual Label Contest. Here’s to fine art!