BIBBSBREWING CO.

Home-brewed by Mike Pinkerton
Indiana brewed. Label approved.

A little home-brew. A lot of personality.

cold,
smooth
& tasty.

AND SO IS THE BEER

A home-brew by Mike Pinkerton, wrapped in a label that takes absolutely nothing too seriously.

Get a closer look at the label
Round Seal of Approval with Mike Pinkerton’s signature.
Three amber bottles showing the illustrated yellow Bibbs Brewing Co. label.
INDIANA BREWEDMIKE PINKERTON APPROVEDOVERALLS OPTIONAL
Mike Pinkerton in his overalls, holding his home-brew on the porch with his dogs.
The brewmaster, with a very attentive tasting committee.

MEET THE BREWMASTER

The man.
The myth.
The overalls.

Mike Pinkerton makes the beer.
The label does the talking.

This is Mike’s home-brew, with a tongue-in-cheek label made in his honor. Affectionately immortalized as “Pinky,” he gets the full treatment: a barrel throne, a signature, and a seal of approval from an extremely selective committee of one.

The beer is homemade. The sense of humor comes standard.

THE BEERMike Pinkerton
THE LABELRyan Carroll and Craig Carroll

“PINKY” · AS SEEN ON THE LABEL

Realistically illustrated Pinky wearing a white and purple orchid lei, plaid shirt and denim overalls, seated on a wooden barrel with a mug of beer. A man worthy of his own label.

THE ENTIRELY UNRELIABLE ORIGIN STORY

Every great beer
has a backstory.
This one has a pickle.

According to the label, a brewing legend was born somewhere between a tire swing and a questionable ingredient list.

  1. A humble beginning.

    His first brewing vat? A “characterful tire swing.” The label is our only source.

  2. An ambitious mash bill.

    Corn cobs, purple orchids, crick water, and organic algae. Tasting notes: “tractor exhaust.”

  3. The pickle that changed everything.

    An uneaten pickled cucumber took a dive into the mash. A pickle, to the less poetically inclined. Naturally, greatness followed.

The backstory is satire. None of its named ingredients were used in the beer. The storytelling, however, was taken very seriously.

THE FINE PRINT, ENLARGED

Remarkable claims.
Unremarkable evidence.

Findings from the Institute of Confident Guesswork, a fictional testing company with excellent stationery.

Independent of the brewery. And, where convenient, the evidence.

LABEL CLAIM / 01

100% organic.*

Nobody was entirely sure what counted. Our imaginary lab independently confirmed that “100%” was, indeed, printed on the label.

100%confidence in the typography0 laboratory tests performed
LABEL CLAIM / 02

Vegan, apparently.*

It sounded fashionable. The committee nodded thoughtfully, hoping someone else knew what it meant.

3very serious nods0 animals consulted
MAJOR DISCOVERY / 03

The pickled cucumber.

Following an exhaustive review of the word “pickled,” our researchers identified the mystery ingredient as a pickle.

1pickle, extensively rebranded0 scientific breakthroughs

These are label jokes, not certifications. The company, findings and figures are fictional; organic and vegan status are unverified. A small home-brew’s affectionate jab at very serious brewery marketing.

THE LABEL, IN ALL ITS GLORY

Bottled with
a straight face.

A little sarcasm. A generous pour of personality.
And yes, the seal of approval is part of the joke.

Three amber bottles showing the corrected yellow Bibbs Brewing Co. label from the headline, Mike illustration, and Pinky backstory sides.
01 / THE FULL ROTATIONGood from every questionable angle.
A bottle mockup alongside the complete yellow printed label.
02 / BOTTLE MEETS LABELDressed for the occasion.

The original artwork.

View full-size label (opens in a new tab)
Original yellow label: cold, smooth and tasty; and so is the beer; Mike on a barrel, his seal of approval, signature, and the satirical Pinky origin story.

SMALL DETAILS. CONSIDERABLE PERSONALITY.

A little local color.

Two Indiana references and one tropical overstatement, tucked into the artwork.

Seal of the State of Indiana.
01 / THE INDIANA SEAL

State pride.

A nod to Indiana, giving the label a sense of place and a little extra gravitas.

Seal of the City of Bluffton, Indiana.
02 / THE BLUFFTON SEAL

Local character.

Bluffton, Indiana, gets its own quiet cameo. The beer has roots. The backstory takes liberties.

An engraved orchid stem with open blossoms.
03 / THE ORCHID

Strictly decorative.

On the label. In the lei. Nowhere in the mash. Even imaginary ingredients deserve good art direction.

The civic seals are local references in the artwork. The enthusiastic approval comes from Mike.

A LITTLE HOME-BREW. A LOT OF PERSONALITY.

Cheers to Pinky.

Meet the brewmaster