'Canny' Awards Name Top Designs For Craft Beer Cans (PHOTOS)

Sometimes what's on a beer can is just as important as what's in it. At least that's true for the folks behind the first-ever Canny Awards, a competition that puts the spotlight on gorgeous graphics featured on craft beer in cans.

Top prize, Craft Can of the Year, went to Bitter American Extra Pale Ale by 21st Amendment Brewery, with second place going to The Corruption IPA by DC Brau and third place to Johnny’s America IPA by Moab Brewery.

The other awards, broken into seven categories including "Best Shelf Presence" and "Best Use of Color," were presented at the Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego, Calif. between May 2 and 5. Winners were selected from quite a large pool -- 231 entries from 83 craft breweries.

Click through the below gallery to see the winning designs.

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Comments

[smittyPA]

08:17 PM on 05/23/2012

I think this is really uncanny that the Young Son of my Atty Friend Gregg is a brewmeister!! Good luck and let us know if you need more PR than a review of your can, man!

[rich3324]

02:32 PM on 05/07/2012

Are there awards for the best label on craft beer bottles?

[NateinMpls]

03:55 AM on 05/07/2012

Surly here in Minnesota releases their beers in pint cans. Their Furious IPA is one of the best. They do release their Darkness in glass, though.

[iMetal]

02:16 AM on 05/07/2012

These all seem like exercises by graphic designers for graphic designers. Are they really paying any attention to what the audience will be looking for or accept on the shelf? The only one I would consider is maybe the Hop-o-potamus. The rest just look generic and lacking character, so why would I want to take a chance on them, when there's already so many great options (at least here on the west coast.)

I suppose it can be argued that Chimay or Spaten have generic labels too (although much less flashy), but it's not like they have anything to prove...

[jenniferkizzy]

01:18 AM on 05/07/2012

bee's organic ale is not on the list

[KIVPossum]

01:02 AM on 05/07/2012

I don't care about the can, it's what's inside that matters.

[Trapper50cal]

01:13 AM on 05/07/2012

Exactly.

[iMetal]

02:31 AM on 05/07/2012

If I saw the Austin in the store, for example, my eyes would pass right over it. And if you were to ask me about it later, I'd probably mention that I noticed the pear cider.

Packaging is extremely important. Especially for a new brand entering today's market.

[Trapper50cal]

11:37 AM on 05/07/2012

Shelf presence is very important. It's also important to not look like a macro-offering and to differentiate ones self from the other surrounding beers. New and untested designs is the way to do that. A seemingly non-corporate design guarantees that your offering won't be mistaken for giant batch "long-grain" lager.

[Trapper50cal]

12:49 AM on 05/07/2012

I designed the Colorado Kölsch Can (Winner of the "Regional" catagory) Not really much to it. The Marketing Director, the CEO and I (I'm a independent contractor, Freelance designer now) wanted to pay tribute to what we think is the finest state out there, we have a lot of Colorado pride and wanted to bring back the era (mid 70's) of "Ski-Country, USA" and the State Flag really spoke to us in that Kelty/Holubar way. The font choice for "Colorado" was an homage to old DOW literature and the rest of the fonts were meant to be an homage to Cologne, Germany...where only TRUE Kölschs can be officially brewed within sight of a particular cathedral there (that's my recollection, anyway)...our's is a "regional variant"

[Trapper50cal]

01:01 AM on 05/07/2012

Sorry...my category is listed as local tie-in. The full category mentions state and region as well.

[Trapper50cal]

12:48 AM on 05/07/2012

Okay, a couple comments....

You people who think this is low-brau to have craft beer in a can....
First, the can is superior to ANY colored glass (other than opaque) because the beer can not be "light struck" where-in the beer becomes "skunky" from exposure to light. Second, cans no longer impart ANY metallic flavor due to new lining technology incorporated in ALL aluminum canning now. Third, there is a "tactile/aesthetic coldness imparted by a cold, sweaty, condensation beading can that isn't achieved through glass. Fourth, it is WAY easier to do outdoor activities, especially camping...responsibly with cans....empty, crush, store in a 20th of the space and weighs next to nothing. Craft beer in cans is the way of the future and right behind nitro-draught as best delivery system.

Now as to THESE cans.

Check out the Austin Brewery Website and see their whole can line-up....GORGEOUS branding and continuity. Beautiful designs and meant to be seen as a whole marketing presence.

[Trapper50cal]

01:01 AM on 05/07/2012

Austin Beerworks not Austin Brewery...my bad guys.

[CTDFalconer]

02:44 AM on 05/07/2012

Cans do have a great many advantages over glass. It's time to abandon preconceptions about beer in cans and stop judging a book by its cover (not to detract from the can designs).

[vespachild]

12:44 AM on 05/07/2012

these can are so nice that I think I need a beer right now

[AlwaysRightLeftist]

11:41 PM on 05/06/2012

craft beer in cans.... I see...

[averagezoe]

10:50 PM on 05/06/2012

I must be a peasant since I've never heard of any of these brands, but I love some of the designs. I quit drinking cans years ago after buying a 6-pack and then watching the store clerk pull his finger out of his nose right before ringing up my purchase. When I got to my car, I noticed a big, juice bugger clinging to one of the pulltabs. Since then, my choice has always been Budweiser Select in a bottle.

[dyldrix]

10:00 PM on 05/06/2012

always liked Fat Tire cans

[drkaos]

09:44 PM on 05/06/2012

Very cool designs.

[art525]

08:57 PM on 05/06/2012

I'm not impressed. Predictable hipster retro rehashes.

[CTDFalconer]

02:45 AM on 05/07/2012

Time to show off some of your design talent, with talk like that.

[art525]

10:06 AM on 05/07/2012

Well first off, by your logic critics couldn't or shouldn't critique movies, or music or art. And secondly I spent 15 years as an art director for what was then the number one ad agency in the country. I won numerous awards including a gold lion from the Cannes Ad Festival. I have been supportiing myself as an artist for the ten years. There was nothing presented here that was surprising,engaging or original. Sorry.

[Kurthi]

07:33 PM on 05/06/2012

Johnny's is either a homage to, or a complete ripoff of the old Reading Beer cans: check out this link and tell if if it is similar,

http://logoblink.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Beer-book-Reading-Brewing-Co-1970s-beer-logo.jpeg

[overcat]

07:56 PM on 05/06/2012

Spot on, I was just thinking the same thing. I have one of the old Reading cans.

[smcmike]

10:15 AM on 05/07/2012

Can't blame them, the Reading can is hot.