It Is ALIVE!

Hops & Grain Brewing Web Site Goes Live

We launched the Hops & Grain Brewing (Austin, TX) web site last week. It’s a groovy little site designed by MAD House regular, Derrit Derouen. The site has cool features to help the user understand each beer in the Hops & Grain lineup. There are links for media coverage, a blog, their sustainability mission, the taproom, Greenhouse lineup, and Brew Biscuits (the dog treats made from the spent grain from the brewing process).

Beer description feature

Taproom Page

Expanded Map feature. Where 6th Street ends and life begins.

The site is running on a WordPress platform and the CMS makes it easy for Josh and Meg to make any updates and changes. Take a look.

Cheers!

Intuition Ale Works Gets The MAD House Treatment

Back in May of this year, The MAD House began a relationship with a groovy little brewery in Jacksonville, Florida. Intuition Ale Works had been kegging their beers for local consumption for about six months and Ben Davis, brewer and owner, decided it was time to start thinking about packaging.

These days it seems there are a whole bunch of craft breweries making the decision to package in cans, and Ben is one of them. Cans have a number of advantages on bottles: They don’t break, they don’t allow light to strike the beer, they are nearly airtight, they weigh less and they fit nicely into the ice chest. Another plus, many parks, pools and beaches do not allow glass bottles. And Florida is not lacking for parks, pools and beaches.

Ben liked the work we did for Hops & Grain Brewing and gave us a call. I pulled in Derrit Derouen, who was the designer on Hops and Grain, and we went to visit the brewery and got a feel for Jacksonville, a town on the craft beer frontier. We were blown away by the brewery, its tasting room, the awesome beers. and Ben and business manager Cari. And Jacksonville has a great craft beer scene.

Another craft brewer, Bold City, is just around the corner from Intuition. And, out at Jax Beach, brewpubs Engine 15 and The Green Room are starting to crank out some beers of their own.

Back to the cans. They have TTB approval and should be firing up their new Cask canning line shortly.

The can designs have gotten some beer press on craftcans.com. There was also a recent design blog posting about them. Read more about it on here, on The Dieline .

Look for more goodies from us in the months to come.
Cheers!

Movember: A Hairy Month

It’s Movember, the month formerly known as November, which is dedicated to growing moustache and raising awareness and funds for men’s health. I have joined the movement and will be donating my upper lip to the cause for 30 days. My moustache (Mo) will spark conversations, and no doubt generate some laughs; all in the name of raising vital awareness and funds for cancers affecting men.

Late '70s Mo'

Early '80s Mo'

Now, if you knew me in the ’80s, you know how scary the idea of me in a moustache can be. Now add a couple of decades of spotty gray whiskers to that and now it really gets scary. Here’s something scarier.

My dad has prostate cancer.

He’s had a number of surgeries and treatments to control it since its diagnosis over 15 years ago. Recently, we learned that the cancer spread to his femur and maybe his spine. We are working with a good team in Austin to try and knock it out before it goes much farther. He’s a real trooper and maintains a positive outlook. So far so good!

So, the Larry-moustache isn’t quite as scary now. Help me raise money to fund cancer awareness, research, educational and support programs. Compared to the reality of over 200,000 men being diagnosed with prostate cancer, and another 30,000 deaths in 2010, giving a little dough is a lot less scary.

Why am I so passionate about men’s health?
*1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime
*A man is diagnosed with prostate cancer every 2.2 minutes
*1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime
*24% of men are less likely to go the doctor compared to women.

Please support my efforts by making a donation at http://mobro.co/LarryMcIntosh.
You can even write a check payable to “Movember Foundation”, reference my name and Registration Number 2503024 and send it to: Movember Foundation, PO Box 2726, Venice, CA 90294-2726

We only have a month to grow Mo’s and raise awareness and funds, so please come along for the ride. Donate and I’ll update you with the slow growth on my lip. Mmmm.

Funds raised will help make a tangible difference to the lives of others. Through the Movember Foundation and their men’s health partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG, Movember is funding world class awareness, research, educational and support programs which would otherwise not be possible.

For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please click on the links below:

About Movember
Prostate Cancer Foundation research
LIVESTRONG
Global Action Plan

Thank you for donating at http://mobro.co/LarryMcIntosh and for helping me change the face of men’s health. Go the Mo!

Movember is a registered 501 (c)(3) charity, donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Hops & Grain Cranks It Up

Our friends and client, Hops & Grain Brewing, finally got all the official approvals and began brewing beer last week. If you are lucky enough to live here in Austin, you’ll start seeing the tap handles at your favorite beer bars in a couple of weeks.

We are putting the finishing touches on his web site and hope to launch it coinciding with the public launch of his beers.

Josh wrote this  post on his blog last week describing the first brew days.

I shot a quick video of the event as well.  Check it out.

Hops & Grain Greenhouse Keg Collars

Here is the keg collar we designed for Hops & Grain’s Greenhouse Series. The Greenhouse is Josh’s 3bbl. pilot brewing system where he’ll produce limited edition seasonals.

Hops & Grain Greenhouse Keg Collars, Derrit Derouen, designer.

Happiness in Durango

Sick Day, part of our Holga campaign. A/D Steve Chandler

For the last 13 years, we’ve been lucky enough to be able to help Bank of the San Juans, a small bank in Durango, Colorado, set themselves apart from the rest of the banks in the Four Corners region. The bank’s president is a great guy who is always open to our sometimes crazy ideas. He does a good job reeling us back in when we get too far out of bounds, but for the most part, he trusts our instincts. And it’s paid off for them in a big way  as the bank has beat projections every year since opening.

We decided going in that the advertising for the bank would be … different. If another bank would do it, we don’t want it. The idea was to approach what had been a sleepy market and wake them up, make them laugh, and keep them guessing. In the process, the bank has built a fiercely loyal group of customers and continues to outpace its competitors in growth.

The bank is now, and has been pretty much from the beginning, an important part of the community – always giving back. As part of their community outreach mission, the bank sponsors a charity golf tournament every year benefiting a different organization each year. Funds are raised through sponsorships, entry fees and a silent auction. All of the bank’s employees get involved and it’s always a great event.

Along the way, our branding and positioning messages of the bank as the “happy, friendly, know your name, look you in the eye, firm handshake, sound banking advice” bank have taken hold. We continued reinforcing that track last May when we introduced the latest look and feel to the bank’s print advertising.

Here’s a quick look back at some of the ads we’ve done for them. The last few are from the latest campaign. Happiness is a good thing.

BSJ Dog Eat Dog, Holga campaign, A/D Steve Chandler

BSj Memorial & Veterans Day ad, Holga Campaign, A/D Steve Chandler

BSJ 4th Anniversary Ad, Holga campaign, A/D Steve Chandler

BSJ 12 Anniversary ad, A/D Steve Chandler, C/W Jeff Neely

BSJ 11th Annual Golf Tourney ad, A/D Steve Chandler

BSJ Halloween ad, A/D Steve Chandler

2011 Golf Tourney ad, A/D Steve Chandler

BSJ ad celebrating 40 years of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, A/D Steve Chandler

And finally, some “tiny ads” featuring the “Happy” theme we’ve been on since a little over a year ago. Because, they are One Big Happy Little Bank. All were done by MAD freak, Steve Chandler.

Hops & Grain Tap Handles

Here’s a sneak peak at the forthcoming Hops & Grain Brewing tap handles designed by MAD House freak, Derrit Derouen. There’s one for Pale Dog American Pale Ale, ALTeration German-style Alt Ale, and one for the Greenhouse Series of seasonal beers. Look for them in you favorite beer bars later this Summer.

Hops & Grains Brewing Tap Handle Designs by The MAD House/Derrit Derouen

DrumStrong Texas

Client and friend Eric Holland of Swan Percussion is involved with DRUMSTRONG TEXAS, an event benefiting local and global cancer initiatives. The event will be held in Austin on Saturday, May 21. Looks like a  pretty cool time. Check the poster for details.

Hops and Grain Can Designs Off For Approval

We’ve finished the can designs for the first two Hops and Grain beers and Josh has sent them off for TTB and TABC approval. Derrit Derouen did a great job working through a number of designs before settling in on this elegant, bold look. Fingers crossed, we should hear back soon.

Tap handles and keg collars are just about ready, as well. Meanwhile, the brewery is waiting for the building where it resides to gain a favorable nod from the city’s health department. Once that is gained, beer will follow shortly thereafter. Check out Josh’s brewery update, HERE.

We also finished the latest version of the H&G Brew Biscuit dog treat labels (below). The new look is on packages and in the market now.

Hops & Grain Alt can. Design by Derrit Derouen, The MAD House.

Hops & Grain Pale Dog can. Design by Derrit Derouen, The MAD House.

Hops & Grain Brew Biscuits label front. Design by Derrit Derouen, The MAD House.

Hops & Grain Brew Biscuit label back. Design by Derrit Derouen, The MAD House.

Look for the tap handle designs soon!

Cheers!

LM

More Images from Tuscaloosa

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