Tap takeover at the Tate pairs art and beer
Breweries were each tasked with creating an abstract piece of artwork based on a number and brewing a new beer.
The Beer + Art series was organised between craft beer distributors Pig’s Ears Beers and the Tate Modern Terrace Bar.
Artwork – which will be exhibited on Thursday 29 November – will be featured on the can and keg clip of the new beers, as well as on postcards.
The Tate Tap Takeover will see first brew pours from Northern Monk Brew, Deya Brewing, Verdant Brewing, Track Brewing, Wylam Brewery, North Brew Co and Left Handed Giant.
Pigs’ Ears Beers managing director Toni Skinner told The Morning Advertiser the firm had always felt there was a “strong synergy” between the art and craft beer worlds.
Impact of design
She explained: “We have seen, first hand, how the impact of good design can make or break a new brewery but the artists themselves are rarely celebrated.
“We wanted to put the people behind the artwork front and centre while exploring how the impact of their particular style of art can convey the identity of a brand even when stripped back to an image on the wall.”
John Gyngell, founder and director of North Bar, echoed this sentiment and said art had been a big part of the brewery’s mission since its opening in 1997.
“Opening the brewery and canning beer has given us an incredible opportunity to express our love for design, and James Ockelford has been key in creating such iconic designs that we are now known and loved for,” he explained.
“This event organised by Pig's Ears Beers is a true celebration of the incredible artistry that goes into all the incredible designs breweries have to offer."
Bold designs
Art featured in the series includes bold colours, Greek imagery, and abstract designs. This diversity has been reflected in the beers devised too.
Cheltenham-based Deya Brewing described its beer as a “very hoppy IPA with Simcoe hops” and said artist Thom Hobson had designed a label that draws on his Polish heritage.
Meanwhile, Left Handed Giant has brewed a 6% ABV Coffee & Tonka Stout using artwork showing an abstract interpretation of the number four.
Northern Monk national account manager Billy Marshall said: “The beer we made for the project is a sour IPA with cherry, milk sugar and vanilla. This is a style that we’ve been playing with a lot recently, it combines all the best elements of a fruited sour and a juicy IPA, with a nice round body from the additions of milk sugar and vanilla.”
The Leeds-based brewery’s art was designed by brewery patron and in-house designer Jon Simmons.
“We were given the number 2, so the artwork is based on Helium, the element that has the atomic number two, with its Greek translation ‘helios’ meaning ‘sun’,” said Marshall.
“The piece of art that Jon has created is a visual contrast between science and Helios, Greek mythology’s Sun God.”
