Duck Street Brewing Co.

When it comes to design, homebrewer Brian Parker isn't just winging it.

Duck, Duck, Beer!

This cap truly fits the bill. The black-on-white contrast makes for a bold statement, and I'm really down with the design's simplicity, allowing the unique font and the detailed graphic to take flight.

Duck Street Brewing Company also features far from fowl labels for each of the brews.

Brian enjoyed working on the labels so much that he got interested in bottle cap design and found BottleMark. He's got all the right instincts: go to town on the labels, keep the cap super-clean, fly south for winter.

And name your brewery after something that facilitates puns. Because serious blog posts aren't all they're quacked up to be.

Design Lesson #2: Importing Images and Exporting Designs

Lesson #2 in our Inkscape Screencasts showcases 1) how to import images or photos from your computer into your design and 2) how to export your finished design as a PNG so it's ready to upload on BottleMark.com.

Also featuring the requisite cute kitty.

Design Lesson #1: Creating a Cap Canvas

Want to make better custom caps, but you're not a graphic geek? Good news! We just launched our first in a series of Inkscape screencast videos. The series begins with the most essential tasks and will move into the more complex tricks.

Today's video takes you from a new document in Inkscape to a ready-to-decorate cap canvas. 

Why are we such big fans of Inkscape, and not Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw? Three words: free, open-source, downloadable. There's no excuse not to. Get Inkscape now!

Don't forget: if you have any design questions, you can always contact me.

National IPA Day

Today we honor that most bombastic and beloved of beer styles...It's National IPA Day!

Ceci n'est pas une Pilsner.

Can you believe this is only the second National IPA Day? I mean, what the heck were my ancestors drinking anyway? The craft beer revolution is very, very young. Seriously: it's young. So toast its long health today!

The BottleMark founders are celebrating by cracking open the first of our new Cartwheel Galaxy IPAs--made with the citrusy, passion-fruity Galaxy hops of Aussie fame.

Ready to party

Here's to the hops!

BottleMark Basics Screencast

I'm starting a new BottleMark Screencast series that will walk you through various designing tricks and tasks in Inkscape. But first, we've got to start at the beginning...

Watch this video to learn all the secrets of 1) creating a BottleMark account; 2) using the features of the online upload tool; and 3) ordering a batch of caps--without shipping them to an incorrect address! Seriously. Google Wallet is so smart it's stupid when it comes to shipping addresses.

Behold, the secrets revealed!

The Eagle Has Landed

On this day in 1969, we went from this:

to this:

And it looked like this:

Congrats to Apollo 11 and all other passionate explorers of our universe.

Jeff and Courtney

Jeff and Courtney love beer. They also have amazing, unforgettable hair: a ginger beard and a giant curly mop. So what could honor their upcoming union more than a quirky bottle cap?

Courtney worked with her friend and graphic designer Michael Wallenfels to get just the right look.  The couple have also used this graphic for their unique save-the-dates.

This clearly says Jeff and Courtney.

These bottle caps will top their six-pack wedding favors--always a great give away! And for their rustic, barn-party wedding in Missoula, Montana, they will be serving a very special beer from Big Sky Brewery. Jeff and Courtney typically spend the winters doing ecological field work in Argentina, so for the last five years, Jeff has been denied his favorite beer, a winter seasonal from Big Sky: the Slow Elk Oatmeal Stout. With barely any convincing at all from the bride, Big Sky Brewery put a small batch of the Slow Elk at the top of their summer brewing list--just for Jeff and Courtney and their guests to enjoy on this special summer day. Now that's crazy customer service!

Here are their engagement photos, starring Courtney's favorite brew, Big Sky's Bobo Robust Porter.

Credit to Cameron Zegers Photography

Congrats, you two well-coiffed beer lovers!