BrewDog enters spirits category with LoneWolf

BrewDog has unveiled its entrance into the spirits category with its LoneWolf brand, designs for which have been created by B&B studio.

Pared back and minimalist, the brand claims that the design is unconventional and reflects its aim to operate as an outsider within the sprits category.

A simple stripped-back label features across the gin and vodka bottles, with the wolf’s head identity its sole adornment.

B&B studio worked to communicate LoneWolf’s approach to the spirits category in the design, as the brand claims to seek to challenge perceptions of what gin and vodka can be.

The production process at LoneWolf takes place on one site, from grain to bottle. Every part of the brand is created from scratch, including the bespoke bottle and a formulated silicone band.

Shaun Bowen, creative partner at B&B studio, says: “LoneWolf goes against the pack and ignores the codes of the category, allowing us to tell their brand story in an eye catching and compelling way.”

The label, which is held onto the bottle with a silicone band, features a modest typewriter font, inspired by the notes made by a distiller in the creation of spirits. It also features the brand’s LoneWolf identity, a wolf distilled down to geometric elements.

The back of the bottle sports embossed LoneWolf type. And twelve stories about LoneWolf, on themes such as the taste and process, written by the brand, appear on the inside of the label.

Bowen adds: “The packaging has a raw simplicity to reflect the purity of what LoneWolf is doing in the spirits sector. It feels legitimate and authentic, with a scientific quality to it.

“Each category has its own design codes but this just turns that all on its head. The vodka and gin look the same – only LoneWolf could do something as revolutionary as this.”

26 May 2017 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, news editor