74 BREWING & BEVERAGE INDUSTRIES BUSINESS Digital printing makes life easier for craft beer brewers, according to specialist label printer, label.co.uk, quoting the example of Tempest Brewing Co., one of the newest and most innovative craft breweries to come out of Scotland Since starting operations in 2010, this craft brewery has won Scottish Brewery of the Year 2016 at the BII Scotland Awards and no less than six awards in the 2017 Scottish Beer Awards. As with many craft breweries, on top of a core range of beers, Tempest produces an eclectic range of seasonal brews as well as limited edition beers. Seasonal beers are brewed when the key ingredients are at their peak and so can be in and out of production pretty quick. It is crucial therefore that bottling, labelling and merchandise materials can be turned around very quickly and in varying quantities. The introduction of digital printing has been revolutionary for craft brewers, not least in that it allows the printing of multiple design variations in a single print run. The process is simple and efficient, producing high quality labels that are cost effective and delivered practically overnight. “One of the biggest benefits of digital printing for us is the flexibility and quality you can achieve with it,” comments Shannon McFarlane, Tempest Brand & Marketing Manager. “With other types of printing there is quite a cost involved in making small changes to labels, and when it comes to quality, I can generally be sure that what is on the screen is what I get when the printed label arrives.” Keeping the dimensions of the brew label the same each time means an identical set of cutting tools can be used, requiring just one print run which keeps costs down. However, standardising the dimensions doesn’t mean design and appearance have to be limited. At Tempest this is far from the case. According to McFarlane the label inspiration always comes from the beer itself; every beer is unique, has its own story, inspiration, season and style and the brewers are usually the ones that come up with a starting point for the label and its elements. Working with several artists, the brewery will select one whose style is the best fit to convey these initial ideas onto the label. With the help of label.co.uk, Tempest has recently added hot foil stamping to some of its labels, for various reasons. “For example, ‘The Old Fashioned’ (pictured above) was made as a concept beer, brewed to replicate the mouthfeel and flavour of the eponymous cocktail,” adds McFarlane. “Because of that, we wanted it to have a modern take on a Bourbon label inspired design, so using textured paper, different fonts, and hot foiling. The gold really sets the entire label off and, in my opinion, ties it to Bourbon bottle label.” For small breweries, it can be difficult to find suppliers that are a good balance of cost, efficiency and flexibility, who understand your business and who are easy to work with. McFarlane chooses to use label.co.uk because, she says, they offer this balanced service. Loving the label www.label.co.uk For more information visit: Safepak protective bottle packaging further developed Advanced Packaging Materials is an innovative manufacturer of packaging products. In 2017 it introduced Safepak to the brewery industry with tremendous success. This was initially designed for 12-bottle transit packaging for courier use. One brewery ordered 500 for use over the Christmas period and experienced no breakages. Since then Safepak has been further developed to carry 3 ,4 and 6- bottle gift boxes. Safepak was initially developed for the wine industry, having been successfully UPS drop standard tested at an internationally accredited laboratory. This test was conducted with a full range of single, two, three, four and 6-bottle packaging. With the huge increase in the gin industry, Advanced Packaging Materials is looking to develop Safepak into this sector. With the use of this packaging distilleries will be able to offer cost effective professional, protective packaging. A further advantage of the packaging its ability to hold either a gift box or just a bottle. News Packaging & Labelling www.printedbeerbottleboxes.co.uk For more information visit: 74_Layout 1 13/02/2018 15:34 Page 1