SUIP!

Hansa Pilsener got a rebrand! And it looks great, I think. Here are the new quarts:

The quart labels have, well, a lot less things on them now. Gone is the abundance of text around the red banding. The type itself has gone full Modernist, and it looks very slick with the reduced copy. It isn’t as legible as the old design, but I think it looks a real sight better.

The colour palette has also been reduced to three colours plus gold, and the internal crest has been recoloured, retraced and has generally been made sleeker. The hop has been made noticeably larger, which is appropriate considering Hansa Pilsener is brewed with floral and spicy Saaz hops in lieu of South African hops. Of course, the Saaz hop is at the core of Hansa Pilsener’s marketing.

The neck and back labels now have red accents, and there is a substantial amount of variation in size between different textual elements, creating a much more nuanced use of negative space. But, as much as I like the new labels, I just don’t know if it suits a beer like Hansa Pilsener. A part of me quite really liked the gaudy old labels with its overemphasis on gold and its thick black strokes around every letter. The new labels are almost too Modern, you know?

But the 330ml bottle is where it’s at. The glass detail is lovely to both look at and to hold, and the neck label is well thought out. Usually, this kind of detailed glass bottle is the preserve of more expensive or exclusive beers, so it’s nice to see SAB introduce something like this with one of their more popular products. It’s turned out to be a popular design, too: the new bottles have already sold out at Montclare Pick ‘n Pay, save for three six-packs, one of which I managed to pick up.

“And the cans?”, I hear you ask. Unfortunately, I have to admit that I have failed you here: I couldn’t find any new cans. In any case, you really shouldn’t be drinking beer out the can unless a) you are camping or b) it is your absolute last resort. (Those two options are equatable in my opinion.)

The tagline for the bottle rebrand: “Special, Inside and Out.” It’s a bit twee, but hey. Perhaps they’ll do something similar with the Marzen Gold brand?

_{I DOUBT IT BECAUSE MARZEN GOLD IS NOT A GOOD PARTICULARLY MARKETABLE OR POPULAR BEER.}

Ahem. Well, dear reader, do you like the Hansa Pilsener repackaging? Let me know by clicking right here.