Abbeydale Brewery is launching a rebrand for its renowned core range of cask ales. With the previous artwork having been in use since the brewery’s formation in 1996, the new look is intended to refresh the range whilst paying homage to Abbeydale’s rich history and ensuring that the familiarity with its most popular beers is not lost.
The new artwork has been created by local artist, well-known print-maker James Green, in conjunction with Field Design, a small design agency based at the Workstation in Sheffield. Jonathan Briggs, Creative Director at Field Design, said: “Going away from our first meeting with Abbeydale Brewery was a great feeling. We were being asked to update and freshen up a Sheffield institution.
You can’t go into a pub in Sheffield (and beyond) without Moonshine or one of its partners on the bar. From our perspective, this was about embracing heritage and maintaining a strong link with Sheffield, to produce a set of designs that are both steeped in tradition yet fresh and bold.” The project, which has been ongoing for the past 6 months, rounds off Abbeydale’s 20th anniversary year, which also witnessed special limited releases of new takes on the core beers including a lagered version of Moonshine and a double hopped Deception.
Left is the old-style branding and right is the new look
Abbeydale Brewery Director Dan Baxter says of the rebrand: “Whilst we are thrilled that the original artwork had such longevity, we know the time has come to re-invest in our artwork for our treasured core beers. We hope this will enable us to best provide the right support and backbone for our business and those of our customers, as well as ensuring the people who drink and enjoy our beer will recognise that the branding reinforces the quality of our beloved brews. ”
The rebrand comes as part of Abbeydale Brewery’s plan for continued expansion, in conjunction with the ambition to cement their reputation as Sheffield’s foremost craft beer brewery. In recent years, alongside the traditional cask ales Abbeydale is well known for, it has also released numerous innovative beers in both cask and keg, including taking part in last year’s nationwide Brewdog Collabfest. Inspiration from American brewing styles is a common theme, with Abbeydale having worked on collaborations with celebrated American breweries including Founders, Dan Rogers of Griffinclaw, NoDa and Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. This is coupled with a commitment to the local community – many of its beers contain locally sourced ingredients (neighbours Birdhouse Tea Co have worked with the brewery on multiple occasions, and Sheffield coffee purveyor Pollard’s supplied the key ingredient for a collaboration with award-winning local bottle shop Hop Hideout).
The new look core range will shortly be joined by a second series showcasing beers using new ingredients and further expanding Abbeydale’s outlook on exciting beer styles, including a brand new barrel souring programme.