Gordon Biersch Brewing Company – Retail Packaging

A match made in beer heaven: Come back with us for a moment to 1987. Dan Gordon is one of the most sought-after brewers in the country while Dean Biersch, an experienced restaurateur and beer lover, is searching for a partner to help open a brewery restaurant. A mutual friend arranges a meeting, so they sit down, start talking beer, and the rest is history.

The Modified American Dream: From the get-go, Dan and Dean had a clear vision of what they wanted: a monument to beer, where people could come drink freshly-brewed beer and have a great meal simultaneously. Only authentic, German-style beers would be served, and in the tradition of the ones Dan brewed while attending The Technical University of Munich, or the most renowned brewing school in the world. Beer would be brewed according to Reinheitsgebot (the age-old German Purity Law of beer) with only the finest ingredients: Hallertauer hops, two-row malted barley, and a special yeast strain imported directly from Germany.

Easily one of my top 10 favorite projects of all time, this re-design of Gordon Biersch’s retail packaging was the culmination of time, ideas, and focus. Designed while at Coulthard Identity Group, I had the pleasure of working under my mentor Steve Coulthard, leading design for this project. After meeting with Dan, Dean and team,we were tasked with providing a larger ‘shelf presence’ in the retail market to aid in increasing sales and brand awareness.

Many many concepts, and a few review meetings later, what you see is a crisp and more colorful final product than sat on the shelves just months before. With a very happy client, Steve and I set off on 5 flagship bottles designs, 6 pack carriers, a 12 bottle variety pack and the 24 pack boxes. From concept to presentation to print production, Steve and I managed this process from day 01, upto the color checks in Chico California, ensuring that the final product matched the vision we had for GB’s retail rebrand.