SURLY BREWING
For the past few years we have been making high-end packaging for Surly Brewing’s specialty individual beers. They release a yearly anniversary brew, a “Darkness” brew, a “Barrel-Aged Darkness” and three “Darkness Variants”.
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CUSTOM BOX
We have had the pleasure of working with Surly since 2011 and working on these limited release boxes since 2019. These illustrations highlight the auto-bottom construction of the box that allow for easy collapse/re-assembly (essential for easy fulfillment when it comes time to put the cans in the boxes). The top of the box is a simple tuck-flap closure.
PAPER:
Variants 2020, 2021 and 2022 used 18PT Neenah Folding Board in Deep Black. Also using Neenah Folding Board in Deep Black was Darkness 2022, Barrel-Aged Darkness 2022 and Thirteen (the initial release and the reprint).
Fifteen used Mohawk Strathmore in Eggplant. Sixteen used Mohawk in Forest Green Cover. Fourteen used Mohawk in Carmine. Culture Collab used Mohawk Keykolour in Royal Blue.
METHODS USED:
All of the Surly boxes we’ve done so far have used at least one foil, often two foils. A lot of them also include a single-level emboss to accentuate parts of the artwork. After foil stamping and embossing is complete, our team moves onto die-cutting, stripping (removing the diecut dieline from the extra paper scraps) followed by fold/gluing.
After fold/gluing is complete, the boxes ship flat to Surly to be filled with their 16 oz cans of beer and distributed to stores.
DESIGN
Most Surly boxes are illustrated/designed by a new artist each time. The 2020 Variant design was done by Barbara Guttman. The 2021 Variants were designed by Justin Bergo, as was the 2022 Darkness Barrel-Aged. The 2022 Variants and 2022 Darkness were designed by Eddie Wolfe.
Thirteen, Fourteen and Fifteen were designed by Michael Berglund. Sixteen was designed by Shahne Anderson.
2022 Darkness & BARREL-AGED DARKNESS
Surly Darkness prior to 2022 was sold exclusively from Surly Brewing, and sold in large glass bottles. While Studio On Fire began producing boxes for Surly’s Darkness Variants in 2020, we didn’t begin producing boxes for the Darkness and Barrel-Aged Darkness until 2022. Now, they are sold in 16 oz cans in our premium boxes at liquor stores, and the bottles are still sold - but exclusively during Darkness Day at Surly Brewing each year.
The Barrel-Aged 2022 Darkness was illustrated by Justin Bergo. The 2022 Darkness was illustrated by Eddie Wolfe. Both boxes were produced by Studio On Fire using Neenah Paper (Folding Board in Deep Black). The Barrel-Aged Darkness uses one foil pass and an emboss, while the Darkness uses two foils and and emboss. Both were diecut, striped and fold/glued in-house here at Studio On Fire.
Darkness Variants
The Darkness Variants are the yearly Surly Darkness (a Russian Imperial Stout) with added ingredients to create a variety of flavors. Like other Surly beers in Studio On Fire boxes, these are sold in-stores.
All of the Darkness Variants each year are made with Neenah Folding Board in Deep Black. Each feature a single foil pass that decorates the box in its corresponding artwork - a derivative of that years Darkness illustration (artists listed below).
2020 Darkness Artist: Barbara Guttman
2021 Darkness Artist: Justin Bergo
2022 Darkness Artist: Eddie Wolfe
SURLY ANNIVERSARY BREWS
Surly releases a unique anniversary brew each year. We began producing boxes for the anniversary beers in 2018, starting with Thirteen - a Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout with Vanilla bean. The next brew was Fourteen, an Ale aged in Parker Heritage Wheat Whiskey Barrels. Fourteen was a Blended Barrel-Aged Grand Cru, while Sixteen was a Barrel-Aged Imperial Red Ale with Raspberry and Strawberry.
In 2021, Thirteen was reprinted for another run - this time with red foil instead of bronze.
Thirteen, Fourteen and Fifteen were illustrated by Michael Berglund. Sixteen was illustrated by Shahne Anderson.
Have a similar project in mind? Reach out to us using the Request-An-Estimate form to talk printing, structural design or custom graphic design.