Canadian boutique agency Hired Guns Creative approached me about writing label copy—in evocative poetic style—for one of their clients, Driftwood Brewery.

Driftwood was brewing a new beer in a unique style—a Swedish “table beer” or Folkol. This would be one of their first canned brews, and they wanted the label to reflect ancient Norse legend. I was tasked with writing label copy that aligned with the tone and approach of that on their other beers (olde world poetry). Driftwood ended up not including a poetic description on this label, but did choose my proposed name for the beer: Goldynwell Folkol.

I created and suggested this name because its combined elements of Norse lore, Swedish language, and beer-quality connotations felt like an ideal brand and match with the intended Norn (mythical, fate-determining female figures) artwork. They agreed.

Goldynwell is now one of Driftwood’s core releases.

On the right, above the bar code, is my proposed label poem. In verse, it marries Norse legend with hints of the beer’s qualities, an approach in keeping with Driftwood’s other offerings.

“Since time immemorial, each mortal fortune we' three’ve foretold; All love, luck, and lust we’ve drawn from Uror’s gilded depths. Human destiny is but a drink we’ve poured and tasted tenfold: Tropical tinges, vibrant zest—tamest liquid of wondrous breadth.”

Driftwood wanted to name a new milk stout after Oumuamua, the first interstellar object to pass through our solar system. Hired Guns and I developed a story from which I would draw up label copy: that the object was actually an alien craft, and its beings were the creators of humankind.

Silhouette of the bottle and its flattened label, which bears my poem:

“Forever caressed by blackest space, the hurtling megalith returns—Earthlings' prodigal creator in dense, velvet-wrapped disguise. Its secret pilots seek adulation, sweet desolation, eternal cold burn; Sapiens' myths rewritten when revealed the cosmic truth inside.”

Oumuamua Milk Stout is one of Driftwood’s special releases.

The actual beer, with its shimmering printed text, including my label poem.

Vashon Island’s Vashon Brewing needed a hand naming a new brew they were launching in the sunny season. Given the Puget Sound location, the beer’s style and character, and the owners’ enthusiasm for water recreation, I pitched the winning “Paddle Break Pale Ale.”

The name both evokes refreshment and speaks to the community’s natural surroundings and interests.