A few days ago I got a great email from Smuttynose. There is a lot to learn from it. Peter Egelston (CEO of this New Hampshire brewery) explained about his recent label approval for — Homunculus Ale:

In 2007, as part of our limited-release, draft-only Short Batch Series, we felt comfortable calling this beer “the Gnome,” a blatant reference to Belgium’s Brasserie d’Achouffe. (Dave, our Director of Brewing Operations explains it here.) When we discussed graduating the Gnome to wider distribution in bottles as part of our Big Beer Series, we felt it was important to be respectful of Brasserie d’Achouffe’s trademark, so we cast about for another name.

As you know, naming a beer, like naming a rock band, is harder than it appears, but everyone wants to take a whack at it. If I had a nickel for everyone who’s approached me at parties with “a great idea for a beer” over the last twenty-plus years, when all they’ve got is a name they think is clever (usually involving a pun), but really isn’t, I could probably buy a fancy dinner with a pricey bottle of wine to boot.

I suggested Homunculus, partly because it means “little man,” making it a distant synonym for “gnome,” but mostly because it’s...

This post will start short but is likely to grow long over time. Very long. We will try to show the enormous range of foodstuffs from which wine is produced. With each post we will add to the list, and I predict it will grow way past 50 60. Today we add Cranberry wine to the list.

1. Agave wine
2. Apple wine
3. Apricot wine
4. Aronia berry wine
5. Avocado wine
6. Banana wine
7. Blackberry wine
8. Blueberry wine
9. Buffaloberry wine
10. Cantaloupe wine
11. Cherry wine
12. Cranberry wine. Made by Horton Vineyards of Gordonsville, Virginia.
13. Dandelion wine
14. Elder flower wine
15. Fig wine
16. Gooseberry wine
17. Grape wine
18. Jasmine fruit wine
19. Kiwi wine
20. Linden flower wine
21. Lingonberry
22. Lychee wine
23. Mango wine
24. Mangosteen wine
25. Marionberry wine
26. Onion wine
27. Peach wine
28. Pomegranate wine
29. Pear wine
30. Pepper wine
31. Persimmon wine
32. Pineapple wine
33. Rhubarb wine
34. Strawberry wine
35. Tomato wine
36. Watermelon wine

Here is an experimental beer label, sent in from one of our favorite label designers. It is from Dave Bourne of Ignite Design in Portland, Oregon. Dave saw it at The Dieline and commented as follows:

You don’t need beer goggles to fall in love with this label design. Beyond the irreverent text and what seems to be their logo of an inebriated beer droplet, there is a design aesthetic that easily combines all the random graphic elements together as a cohesive unit. Who knew you could use no less than seven different typefaces and make them all work together in unison? It helps that all the graphics are gold on a simple off-white paper stock. Also, the placement of every design element fits within a grid-like structure that allows you to look at each component of the design within its own square or rectangular space. While you’re throwing back a few of these, it’s clear that you won’t be bored with ubiquitous “Don’t drink and drive” statements or graphics of the various kinds of hops they’ve used. Instead, you’ll enjoy a little lesson in beer chemistry along with a few fireworks and an exclamation of “SWEET JESUS” possibly reminding you to pray for more of this beer when it runs out.

...

This, quite apparently, is what Charlie Sheen has been drinking. It is Tiger Blood Vodka, made in Hungary. No word on whether it’s the source of the Adonis DNA. The evidence is here. Fox says the real Tiger Blood is something along the lines of mangosteen — a fruit we covered about a year ago. Editor’s Note:  nothing in this post should be regarded as curative, therapeutic, advisable or serious.