The oldest craft brewery in California’s Orange County primarily produced private label beer until a dramatic rebirth in 2014 as Evans Brewing Company. The Brandit, a brand development agency with 13 years of experience in the craft beverage industry, was brought on as a creative partner to develop evocative, story-centric packaging for Evans’ four main-line beers to be packaged in 22-oz. bottles.

For Evans Brewing, each beer’s label was to be completely unique, presenting the consumer with a captivating story that both celebrated Orange County and clearly expressed the unique flavors of that beer. The concept that resulted from this challenge was writing tall tales about how these special beers were born in Orange County—and then illuminating them with incredibly detailed illustrations. Each label features vividly designed, hand-drawn artwork and custom die-cut labels.

The Brandit’s role with developing Evans’ packaging included brand strategy, product naming, art direction, graphic design and writing for the labels. Matt Ebbing, associate creative director, led the internal team at The Brandit, and Martin Hargreaves executed the detailed ink drawings that serve as the foundation of the final illustrations. www.thebrandit.com