Beer enthusiasts usually end up collecting labels from their brews at some point in their drinking career and some collections have been generating interest from a commercial aspect as well; these collections do acquire a value over time and some collections are also extremely large!

While stripping off a beer label from a cold one is a traditional bar pastime, getting the collection arranged and displayed to best effect is not as simple as you may think. Some beer aficionados believe your beer label collection should be a personal history tour and take the reader on a personal pilgrimage through the owners introduction and education in the delights of this ancient brew (beer was originally invented by the ancient Egyptians). Others, with a more librarian bent of mind, believe any collection should be organized so it is easily searchable and arranged in a logical form which flows easily from one section to the next.

Believe it or not, there is quite a debate raging amongst collectors over which is the best method! Yes, believe it or not, George isn’t at home! This debate is alive and well and celebrating a night on the town.

Whether you go for the two-dimensional, Dewey decimal version of the personalized, scrap book style presentation, there is no getting away from the attraction collecting beer labels has for many people. Microbreweries have been cashing in on the growing trend as well by bringing out increasingly changed labels to celebrate their brews. The larger breweries have a brand image and stick to it pretty rigidly but smaller ones such as Saranac in upstate New York, change their labels almost monthly specifically for collectors.

Whether you like beer or not, collecting beer labels is fun and interesting but despite being essentially the same product – alcoholic, liquid refreshment – the labels used on bottles is extremely varied, often funny, frequently artistic and like the real thing, once you pick up a collection you are going to find it hard to put down again. Especially if you end up adding the infamous “Santa’s butt” label to your collection.

After you’ve begun collecting beer labels, you can expand into collecting and even printing wine labels.

Photo by adactio.

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