ADVERTORIAL
The New STARR HILL BREWERY Founded in 1999 in Charlottesville, Starr Hill Brewery has been crafting beer for a long time in Central Virginia. The past year has seen some big changes for the brewery including a new Brewmaster, a renovated Tap Room, and now a completely redesigned look for their logo and packaging. We caught up with Starr Hill’s Marketing Manager, Jack Goodall, to discuss the inspiration behind the refresh and designs.
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Blue Ridge LIFE
handcrafted look with vibrant colors, reminiscent of silkscreen concert posters. Wyndsor Hug, a local artist and Creative Director at Storyware, who’s designed album artwork for Dave Matthews Band and other local musicians designed all of the new labels and did a tremendous job. This past winter we had some small events in various markets to ask craft beer fans for their thoughts on some initial drafts of the new designs. Their response to the imagery and direction was overwhelmingly positive, so we knew we were onto something good.
#NewStarrHill
image needed to reflect our customers as well as our team in an authentic way. The new look would still be exciting and true to Starr Hill’s DNA but also bring consistency and simplicity that had been lacking in the past.
Q: Why did you decide to redesign your packaging? A: As a 16 year-old brewery, we’ve grown a lot since we first started. Over the past year or so, we decided our
JULY 2015
Q: How did you go about creating these new designs? A: It all starts with our roots in music and the landscape of our home in Central Virginia while also bringing a fresh perspective to elements from our past labels. We wanted a
Q: Can you tell us the stories behind a few of the new designs? A: Grateful, our hop-forward pale ale, was designed with a hop farm in the background in a bright green that just jumps off the label. We also shifted from Grateful Dead references to a broader type of symbolism with the hands. The Love showcases a wheat field and a classic Virginia-style farm, tying it into the “Virginia is for Lovers” theme of the Commonwealth. Double Platinum, which is a favorite design of many here at the brewery, was a different direction where rather than setting a scene we went with an abstract take on a vinyl record.
Q: What else is new for Starr Hill? A: A ton! We’re brewing the best beer we’ve ever made and recently enhanced our biggest brand, Northern Lights. If you haven’t tasted Northern Lights, or any Starr Hill beer recently, we think you’ll really see a difference. We’re also brewing collaboration beers with seven different breweries this year as a part of our Collaboration Tour 2015. Our Tap Room in Crozet always has the latest unique releases on draft and every pint sold supports a different local charity each month, such as the Charlottesville Mural Group who just painted a gorgeous mural across the street from our brewery. We’re really excited to share the #NewStarrHill with everyone and hope to see them at the brewery soon. STARR HILL BREWERY 5391 Three Notched Rd, Crozet, VA 434-823-5671 www.StarrHill.com