Summer Hangover

Now that the first 2 weeks are in the books for the greatest sport on earth I can break myself free from researching/nervous twitching. I'd like to thank Coors Light, and its subsidiaries, for its consistent support. (As much as I keep trying to believe it is the cat's shit, those wide-opening cans really don't do anything.) To get back to posting about beers that are too hard to find, and no one would buy anyway, I'd like to share a great dialogue between the creative minds at New Belgium.
Apparently they are releasing a new ale accidentally flavored with espresso.
Coffee beers are the worst. First, no other beverage category has been successful at capitalizing on the second most traded commodity in the world. Coke Blak? 2 weeks. Jamocha shakes from Arby's? Well, bad example.
Second, as a biased non coffee guy, isn't coffee more of a necessity than good flavor? Do people actually like the taste of coffee? It really makes people's faces and urine smell.
That said, there is some good insight into how a great company thinks about things.
If I were surrounded by beer all day at work, I would be more productive too.

Some have wondered where the name, and more prominently, the label image came from. Well, here’s the story of Giddy Up. It started as a naming brainstorm. It ended with a personality. And a really big…

From: Greg Owsley
Subject: Re: Espresso Ale naming help
Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 7:58 AM
1st off, I’m friggin thrilled with the new beer. All the blah blah in the world can’t replace imaginatively delicious liquid like this.

I was thinking about naming the new beer, which in fine Bouckaert fashion, defies style. So at our creative meeting yesterday, when I informed them that the new beer has considerable caffeine, I was reminded of the name of the espresso company I dreamed up but never opened, Giddy Up.

Initial reactions? Other ideas? Label art?

From: Bryan Simpson
I’ll spin on some naming and I’ll revisit my aesthetic position on putting the image of a glass of beer on a bottle of beer – me not like this.

I do like “Giddy up” tho. Fun to say and gets at pick-me-up/stimulant while beer is self-evident.

From: Melyssa Glassman
I like Giddy Up, too. While the coffee/espresso references immediately take me to a darker brew, it’s the obvious place to be. So, here are some name ideas that work towards the actual red color within a coffee sort of way:

Red Roast
Red Alert
Belgian Blend
Rooster
Red Rooster

I like the Rooster idea because they wake you up, they’re red, it’s a fun image and fun to say. It could be Red Rooster, The Rooster, Rooster Ale…etc.

From: Greg Owsley
So, I was liking Red Rooster Ale. But, sigh, a quick google revealed 3 (!) RR ales already in business.
Giddy Up is it? Imagery?
What about a red rooster?

From: Bryan Simpson
What about a red rooster? Riding a horse.

From: Jodi Taylor
I don’t know if you’re kidding but I like it. Anne did a good job painting Arrow the dog.

From: Bryan Simpson
Kinda kidding but I like the surreal element. I’m cc-ing the others just to see if there’s traction.

From: Greg Owsley
Rooster on horse. I like it. For me, It conjures up my favorite form of surrealism, those absurd postcards of the west – jackalope, fur-bearing trout…

From: Jodi Taylor
I pictured just that – the stiff profile view of the rooster on the horse in a Colorado pastoral setting, brownish for fall. I’ll photoshop an image together.

From: Bryan Simpson
We’ve got a spokes model! Started as a gag but a rooster riding a horse definitely makes you stop and ponder… wtf? I gotta know what this tastes like!

* * *
So there you have it. The not so impressive, but fun while it lasted, email exchange that gave life to the label and a darn good cock-a-doodle brew.