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

 

 

Andy Swaggerty • Greenville, North Carolina
Prize: Tap Board marker from myLHBS.com

 

Andy Wilhite • El Cajon, California
Prize: Gift certificate from Original Home Brew Outlet

 

 

Brad Eaton • Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Prize: Gift certificate from High Gravity

 

 

Brian Miller • Sonora, California
Prize: Gift certificate from Hop Tech Home Brewing Supplies

 

 

 

Craig Werkheiser • Wescosville, Pennsylvania
Prize: Gift certificate from Homebrew4less.com LLC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heath Gelinas • Vernon, CT
Prize: Gift certificate from Quality Wine and Ale Supply

 

 

 

John B. McDonald • Shady Shores, Texas
Prize: The Beer Book from Home Brew Party

 

 

 

Joshua A. Webb • Murrieta, California
Prize: Thermometer from Hobby Beverage Equipment

 

 

 

Matt Thomas • Pearland, Texas
Prize: Gift certificate from High Gravity

 

 

 

Mike Person/Sean Ryan • Elgin, Illinois
Prize: Gift certificate from Home Brew Ohio

 

 

 

Rich Lindeman • Atlanta, Georgia
Prize: Gift certificate from The Flying Barrel

 

 

 

Ryan DeLutis • Lancaster, PA
Prize: Gift certificate from TheBeerTapStore.com

 

 

 

Shane Dubay • Chicago, Illinois
Prize: Gift certificate from Leeners

 

 

 

Steve Pribek • Hales Corners, Wisconsin
Prize: Gift certificate from Shrivers Pharmacy

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

David & Tomas Jirku 

 

 

 

Jeremy Northwood  

 

 

 

Joel Runnels & Ben Strahan

 

 

 

 

 

Matt Bedell

 

 

 

Pamela Pillar 

 

 

 

 

Travis Savchenko