The pelican mascot known to regulars as “Hugh” or “Chester” has perched on tap handles across Alabama for years, but Fairhope Brewing Company is giving the bird a much bigger stage. The Eastern Shore brewery revealed label designs this week for its three flagship beers, which are set to hit retail shelves in Mobile and Baldwin counties and beyond by around summer 2015.
“There’s something about his look. He knows something you don’t,” said Brian Kane, co-owner of Fairhope Brewing Company, describing the pelican’s appeal. The character appears in three different costumes depending on the beer: a red, white and blue trucker cap for the blue-packaged Fairhope 51 Pale Ale, a fishing hat and vest for the green-themed Take the Causeway IPA, and a monocle, suit vest and bow tie for the scarlet-colored I Drink Therefore I Amber. The color coding is meant to help drinkers identify each beer at a glance, even in a cooler where labels might not face outward.
The artwork, designed by Eastern Shore resident and former Red Square Agency partner Matt Whitfield, is the most visible piece of a near-million-dollar expansion already underway at the brewery’s home off U.S. 98 on Nichols Avenue. New equipment being installed in a larger adjacent building is expected to boost output by roughly 600 percent, according to the owners, supporting both a bigger keg supply and, for the first time, a dedicated bottling line.
Kane said bottling offers a more efficient way to get beer to customers than kegs alone, since empty kegs sitting outside circulation cost the brewery money, while bottled beer, once it leaves the building, is simply sold. Co-owner Jim Foley said the new bottling line paired with the expanded brewing system will be capable of producing upwards of 500 cases of beer per day once fully operational.
The new labels have drawn praise from the brewery’s own staff. Assistant brewer Tim Heath, one of the newest additions to the team, said he appreciates the restraint of the design in an industry where labels often compete for attention. “A lot of beer labels now are getting over the top,” Heath said. “A lot of them are cool, and there’s a lot of artistic value in that. But I definitely like a clean, simple design.”
Head brewer Dan Murphy, a former graphic designer himself, said he was “ecstatic” when he first saw Whitfield’s artwork. “The pelican epitomizes our spirit here,” Murphy said. “It’s a little bit serious but a good bit goofy without being cartoonish.”
With the bottling line and expanded brewhouse moving toward completion, Fairhope Brewing’s beer, and its now-iconic pelican, are poised to reach far more shelves across the region than the taps that first built the brand’s following.