When brewers and artists collaborate... Beautiful things happen! Our head brewer had this weirdly awesome idea to brew a beer that was loaded with passionfruit, amazing fruit-forward hops and gummy bears— then give it the ridiculous name it deserves. As we needed to make this whimsical dream happen, we knew exactly who we wanted to work with on the label... Our good and very talented friends of Sector Seventeen.
All it took was telling these Boise artists the name of the beer to get them on board... And zero art direction was needed. They created an 11 ft. wide, 6 ft. tall painting (a new addition to the brewery)— then Payette Graphic Designer got to do her typographic magic on the finished piece to create Gummy Bear Apocalypse Passionfruit Imperial Hazy IPA. 💥 A limited release beer on draft and in 16oz 4-packs.
“Going COMPLETELY outside of Payette’s realm has been exciting... Breaking design rules and brand guidelines I would have NEVER come close to doing. I’ve spent years making sure our brand’s voice is clean, consistent, kickass and recognizable. This year has inspired us to push the limits, showcase creativity of every single person involved in the creation of our products in a new and unexpected way. It takes a team... we can be bold, silly, adventurous, risky and just plain curious. These new beers we’re rocking are giving us a chance to spread our wings... And there are ZERO design rules and brand guidelines standing in my way!”
Meet the creative minds behind the artwork of GUMMY BEAR APOCALYPSE in this interview with Sector Seventeen
We had the pleasure to sit down the with Hawk and Collin, collectively known as Sector Seventeen, just before the big release of our new brew. They were rad enough to give us some insight into their world and what inspires them.
First off, Hawk and Collin, where are you guys from and what is your background in the art scene?
We are both basically from Boise. We started mainly in the graffiti world, along with skateboarding, hip hop, etc.
How long have you been practicing your craft and working together as Sector Seventeen?
We have been painting with aerosol for roughly 13-14 years, and working as full time artists for 6-7 of that. Sector Seventeen was started in 2004 with our late friend Jeff (Blank One) as a way to take on more commissioned work.
Aside from the cultural side of street art; graffiti, hip hop, etc., who or what would you say influences what you guys do and your particular style?
There are so many artists out there crushing it everyday that it's hard to single people out. Basically we respect anyone out there who is really applying themselves to push their work further. In Boise specifically are some really talented people who are driving up the creative stock in our city.
I feel that. Admittedly before moving here I had no idea Boise had such a thriving art scene. With such a local presence here, what are some of your more recognizable pieces around town?
The Rhodes Skate Park mural we did in Downtown Boise is one of the major public projects we have been involved with, along with the west side of the Record Exchange, the Boise City Center Plaza walkway and the telecom buildings up at Table Rock.
Notorious BIG and Prodigy at Tablerock, I love that one. So on to the beer related questions. You guys did the North Fork Lager mural live at our Lager than Life event, do you enjoy working on live pieces?
We do enjoy doing live painting. It is a good way for people to see the process from start to finish, as well as generate possible commissioned projects. A lot of people aren't familiar with the process we use to paint a piece with aerosol, and this is an opportunity for us to showcase our skills.
The Gummy Bear Apocalypse mural came out amazing, what did you guys do to come up with some inspiration for it?
When Paige approached us about this project, she only gave us the name of the beer and told us to run wild with the imagery. We bought some fancy gummy bears and staged a still life photo shoot on Collin's front porch that probably looked pretty funny to those passing by. The rest is history.
So this your first commission piece for a beer collaboration? Considering how awesome it came out would you be open to doing it again?
Yes, this is our first piece for a beer design and we would definitely be open to doing more in the future.
I think the way the craft beer industry is headed you guys are in a great position for more partnerships in the future! To close this out, I need an opinion from you guys on this hotly debated topic. I personally don’t taste it but, do gummy bears have flavors?
The brand we used for the reference photos comes in 12 different colors and discernible flavors, so the answer to that is YES! Unfortunately not all gummy bears are created equal, and lesser brands may cut corners when it comes to flavor. Our favorite color is beer!
We can all agree on that one. Thanks again guys, looking forward to working together again sometime.
