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Home Photo Galleries Label Galleries 2000 Label Contest Winners

The first package arrived several weeks before the deadline and was treated with great reverence. The Label Gnomes, who convene to judge the contest every year, gathered around to watch. Inside the box was a silver bottle rocket.

More accurately, it was a bottle of homebrew wrapped entirely in tinfoil, complete with stabilizer fins. “Märzen to Mars!” screamed the label. “Warning! Consumption of the alcohol in this rocket can alter the space in your mind!” The gnomes cheered wildly. The fifth annual BYO Gonzo Label Contest was off to an explosive start.

Over the next month, thousands of labels, submitted by homebrewers from all across the country, arrived at BYO world headquarters. On judgment day, the gnomes took time to appreciate each and every one. This is an enviable task: In the collective sense, our readers are an amusing (and creative) bunch.

In the end, after a few nasty beard-pulling squabbles, the gnomes gave top honors to seven contestants in each of the two major
categories, professional and amateur. They also awarded “Editors’ Choice” prizes to labels that deserved ... something (we’re not quite sure what). And for readers who wonder how we pick the winners, rest assured that the strictest standards are applied. (Typical gnome exchange: “That one is awesome.” “For sure. Absolutely. I totally agree.”)

To each and every homebrewer who took time to send us a label, a sincere thanks. We wish we could publish all of them. Since we can’t, we’re establishing the all-new National Archives of Homebrew Labels in our office. It’s a filing cabinet, but what the heck. If you find yourself in Manchester, Vermont, stop by to check it out. We’ll also post lots of labels on our website (www.byo.com).

A hearty homebrew toast to everyone who made the contest, as always, a huge success.

<p>Persistence pays. After walking away with peripheral prizes in years past — the 1999 “Fine Art” award for Picasso Pale Ale and the 1998 “Everybody’s A Comedian” medal for Weizenguy Weiss — Shewchuk is bringing home the first-place hardware. A partial-mash brewer, Shewchuk named his Rural Route 13 Brewery after the country road he lives on. When Gary’s not brewing, he’s an instrumentation technologist. (“That means I work with electronics in a lab,” he explains.) </p> <p>Prize: Mash-and-lauter tun with false bottom and sparge arm from Brew Your Own Brew. Plus: 50-pound bag of malt from Briess; a year’s supply of yeast (12 vials) and a T-shirt from White Labs.</p>

Amateur 1st • Gary Shewchuk • Brighton, MI
<p>Pappalardo, who owns a computer-imaging business, designed this label with his teenage son, Zack. It commemorates their dear departed pet. In the spirit of honesty, it must be revealed that the bunny in the photo is not actually the late Sparky. “This guy was a lot cuter,” admits Lou. “Sparky was a lop-ear rabbit, so on the bottle, he looked like a dog.” </p> <p>Prize: Counter-pressure bottle-filler and tubing kit from Brew By You. Plus: $75 gift certificate from Northern Brewer, Ltd.</p>

Am 2nd • Louis Pappalardo • Oakland, California
<p> Mark Wedge is a mystery man, which is to say, he doesn’t return our calls. Ever. So I’m afraid we can’t tell you very much about his seriously disturbing Mental Disorder Porter, beyond saying we thought it was cool. Scary cool. The part you can’t see proclaims that “just one taste will make you lose your mind.” Obviously.</p> <p>Prize: $75 gift certificate from Beer and Wine Hobby. Plus: a year’s supply of yeast and T-shirt from White Labs.</p>

Am 3rd • Mark Wedge • Fort Worth, Texas
<p> Loose started homebrewing a year ago and since then “he’s done quite a lot of it,” his bemused wife reports. He lives in northern Michigan and named his Rapid River Brewing Company after the trout stream that runs across the front of his property. An all-grain brewer, he works as a supervisor at the ANR Pipeline Company in his spare time. </p> <p>Prize: $50 gift certificate from Crosby and Baker Ltd.</p>

Am HM • Rusty Loose • Rapid City, Michigan
<p>It’s hard to ignore a beer label plastered with actual grass clippings from the contestants’ front yard. It’s equally hard to ignore the Hargroves, a happy homebrewing couple who entered the contest for the first time last year and won the amateur category with their “Dirty Bird Brew” label. This year’s offering is no less impressive. But the gnomes are allergic to grass. </p> <p>Prize: two 12-inch tap handles with customized labels from Kestrel Manufacturing Inc.</p>

Am HM • Jan & Connie Hargrove • Duluth, Georgia
<p>Glenda and Michael designed this label for their office holiday-party beer. Glenda, who has a zoology degree, drew and colored the hawk by hand. Michael brewed the beer, designed the label concept and wrote the label copy. </p> <p>Prize: 50-foot double-coil copper wort chiller from Alternative Beverage.</p>

Am HM•Glenda Crawford&Michael Herron•Englewood, CO
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Whitbeck scores again! An avid all-grain brewer and full-time stay-at-home dad, Chris placed third in the amateur category last year for his Cottontail Pale Ale. If you’re sensing a hare-brained theme, you’re right: Whitbeck named his home-brewery “Rabbit Brewing Company” after the street he lives on, and his submissions this year included Angora Amber, Peter Rabbit Porter and Jack Rabbit Red. Bet he uses a lot of hops. </p> <p>Prize: 60-foot copper wort chiller with brass hose connection from The Grape and Granary.<br /> <br /></p>

Am HM • Chris Whitbeck • Washoe Valley, Nevada
<p>The gnomes had a tough time judging the hotly contested professional category. But in the end, Red Hare Ale triumphed by a hare. (By the way, what’s up with all the rabbit labels this year?) Nicely, a graphic designer at Golden Valley Microwave Foods, is a homebrew neophyte: Red Hare is the first batch he’s ever brewed, made from an extract kit he bought in February. The rabbit and cards stem from his other hobby, performance magic. Prize: 7.5-gallon mash tun from Hobby Beverage Equipment. </p> <p>Plus: $50 gift certificate from Asheville Brewers Supply; complete homebrew cleaning kit from Five Star Products.</p>

Professional 1st • Scott Nicely • Bloomington, MN
<p>Red Flag Ale was brewed for the ice-fishing contest that Scott’s dad, “Tricky” Dick Nichols, holds every February on Lake Chetac. Scott (a.k.a. Zeke) brewed a red ale for this year’s bash, to signify the red flag that pops up when a fish is on. His brother Jeff, an art director in Portland, Oregon, did the label and designed the poster for the Big Mahoski Fishing Contest. (“Big Mahoski” is Wisconsin-speak for “Big Fish.”) </p> <p>Prize: counter-pressure bottle filler from The Beverage People. Plus: 55-pound bag of Bud malt and Budvar yeast from St. Patrick’s of Texas; homebrew cleaning kit from Five Star Products.</p>

Pro 2nd • Scott Nichols • Pleasant Prairie, WI
<p>Adam Madison is the man behind many labels. He’s got it all figured out: He brews the beer, comes up with a label concept and then gets someone else to handle the art. (Slick trick, Adam!) This year, he takes third for Mardi Graz Märzen, with illustration by his cousin Andrew Guschl, a designer in Delaware. Adam’s amateur entry, drawn by his stepdad Dave Douglas, is the “Wee Wee Heavy” on page 39. Madison and Douglas also received honorable mention for their labels in 1998 and 1998. So do you share the prizes, or what? (Kidding, Adam. Keep ’em coming!)</p> <p>Prize: $75 gift certificate from BrewSource.com; a year’s supply of yeast (12 vials) and a T-shirt from White Labs.</p>

Pro 3rd•Adam Madison & Andrew Guschl•IN & DE
<p>This is not Levesque’s first time on the Label Contest podium: He walked away with the “Best Chia Pet Alternative” in 1998 for his “Sea Monkey Brown Ale” and took the coveted “Best Reptile” award in last year’s competition for “Dave’s Killer Iguana Ale.” This year’s Honorable Mention is a much more dignified award, befitting a homebrew label as subdued and understated as “Pale Alien: Take Me To Your Brewer!” An all-grain brewer who’s been into the hobby for a decade, Levesque does graphic design and prep work for a screen-printing company near his home in Forestville, Connecticut. A friend came up with the Pale Alien name, then Dave went to work on his computer. </p> <p>Prize: Kool Keg from The Beer Essentials.</p>

Pro HM • David Levesque • Forestville, Connecticut
<p>Barry’s distinctive entries have won an award every year since the competition. In the real world, he’s a freelance illustrator and associate professor at Kansas University. In his spare time, he’s an avid partial-mash brewer. </p> <p>Prize: Two kits from Seven Bridges Organic Homebrewing.</p>

Pro HM • Barry Fitzgerald • Lawrence, Kansas
<p>By his own admission, Miller’s labels are “the result of too much homebrew.” Miller, an illustrator, has been homebrewing for six years. He’s an extract brewer, we figure: “I get a can of stuff and mix it in the pot. What does that make me?” </p> <p>Prize: Three beer kits from Muntons PLC.</p>

Pro HM • David Miller • Williamsville, New York
<p>This is one of those times when you really have to be there, because the subtle three-dimensional effect on this label is hard to reproduce. Suffice it to say that the ghostly Mountie hovering behind the logo is most impressive indeed. It’s a father-son effort: Robert is the homebrewer; son Andy is a graphic designer with Waypoint, an ad agency in Wilmington. </p> <p>Prize: two Party Pigs with activation pumps from Quoin Industrial.</p>

Pro HM • Robert & Andy Mathers • Delaware
Prize: Digital thermometer, tap handle and book from Larry’s Brewing Supply.

Editors Choice • Mike Perpall • Norcross, GA
Prize: Six cans of malt extract from California Concentrate Company. Plus: eternal devotion from the editors at BYO.

EC • Gary King • New Boston, Michigan
Prize: Label-making software and blank labels from F.H. Steinbart.

EC • James Girard • DeSmet, South Dakota
Prize: Homebrew cleaning kit from Five Star Products

EC • Tim Collins • Fort Mitchell, Kentucky
Prize: One homebrew cleaning kit from Five Star Products.

EC • Jeremy Archer • Glendale Heights, Illinois
Prize: One beer kit and one wine kit from Brew King.

EC • Michael Neuman • Salinas, California
Prize: Four cans of Coopers malt extract from Cascadia.

EC • Glen Nichols • Fenton, Michigan
Prize: Six cans of malt extract from California Concentrate Company.

EC • John DiGiorgio • Hicksville, New York
Prize: One beer kit and one wine kit from Mosti Mondiale.

EC • Steve Maringer • Covington, Kentucky
Prize: Tap handle from Sculpture Concepts.

EC • Travis Jorgensen • Brunswick, Maine
Prize: Six yeast packets, T-shirt and various other supplies from Wyeast Laboratories.

EC • Chuck Biehl • North East, Maryland
Prize: Two ingredient kits from Vintage Cellar.

EC • Andy and Ronda Statz • Madison, Wisconsin
Prize: Homebrew cleaning kit from Five Star Products.

EC • William Card • Olympia, Washington

Best of the Rest • Dave Bieganski • Anchorage, AK

BR • Jack Jordan • Gainesville, FL

BR • Eric Christensen • Plainfield, IL

BR • Marc Strasen • Upland, CA

BR • James Diaz • Redding, CA

BR • Rob Hanson • Washington, DC

BR • Adam Madison & Dave Douglas • Greenfield, IN

BR • Jim Freach & Carolyn Adams • Catasauqna, PA

BR • Chris Bersted • Springfield, MO

BR • Chris Bennett • New Bern, NC

BR • William Pewitt • Belle Mead, NJ

BR • Gregg Wormley • Struthers, OH

BR • George Allen • Lowell, MA

BR • Ken Spiegel • Pasadena, MD

BR • Chris Bennett • New Bern, NC


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