“Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears;”  I come to tell you a story…a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down!  Alright, alright.  I’ll bring it down a notch but can you tell I’m in a good mood?  Well, that’s what Good Vibrations is all about. 

In our last post on Shelby Dog IPA, I talked about the fact that every beer should have a reason for being.  To take that a step further, we believe a beer should have it’s own personality; it should have an emotional connection to the drinker that goes beyond the bounds of the glass.  This is the difference between a craft beer and yellow fizz.  Unfortunately, that’s not always easy to do.

When we first started tossing around the idea of a witbier (white beer), Shawn already had the foundations of his recipe ready to go.  Unlike an IPA, the flavor from a witbier comes from the yeast and the malt bill.  Hops are used sparingly and really only for bittering, not for flavor or aroma purposes.  But the master stroke for Good Vibrations is the “secret sauce” – a very special blend of orange, chamomile, and coriander.  Blended in with just the right recipe, the spices, malt, and yeast work together to create something altogether magical – if it’s done correctly.  A step in the wrong direction can very easily end up making your beer taste like carbonated orange juice with a weird spice flavor.  Lucky for us, Shawn is an artiste!  And I’m not kidding when I say he has created the liquid form of good moods.  So with Shawn’s recipe already locked and loaded, we had to figure out the best way to convey the personality of this beer to you, our drinker.

For us, every beer throws out a “vibe.”  Whether it’s a mental picture we associate with a certain style or maybe it’s something we were discussing when we started brewing the beer, that vibe is in there somewhere.  Once we find it, after some sculpting, it eventually becomes the personality of the beer.  As it turns out, we didn’t have to search too long to find the vibe of this beer.  In fact, it was apparent right from the beginning that everyone was going to love this beer and have fun with it.  I believe Shawn is the one that mentioned the name but as soon as he said “Good Vibrations,” we all agreed it was perfect.  We started brainstorming almost immediately on the artwork and decided that we wanted to have a dog on the beach with lots of bright colors.  I think a surfboard was discussed at one point but once we had the dog and the big orange sun, we knew we were onto something.  So let me break down this label for you.

First and foremost, the star of Good Vibrations is named Wilson.  I’ll see if any of you can make the connection on the name – if so, leave your guess in the comments below.  Although Wilson is a mutt,  he’s the very definition of cool with those sweet blue sunglasses.  He also takes center stage on the Good Vibrations tap handle, which is a work of art in itself.  

Second, the sun, which is a big orange slice in the background, is a call out to that delicious orange flavor that this style has become known for.  Yes, we will garnish it with an orange but I encourage you, when you have your first sip, try it without the orange garnish and do a little “un-fruit-influenced” evaluation of your own.

Third, the beach in the background is actually painted from a photo of Indiana Dunes National Park.  It is hard to find a good beach picture in Indiana but not impossible!

And finally, notice the color palette.  The light blues, bright whites, and pops of orange and green really make you think about summer, relaxation, and good times, right?  Again, we’re working hard and using every tool  to communicate the personality of Good Vibrations.

In the end, Good Vibrations was one of the easier beers to create from beginning to finish.  It’s personality was right there from the start, which is fitting.  I’m pretty sure Good Vibrations will be the unofficial sponsor of your good mood so here’s a pro-tip – when you get to walk into the brewery for carryout beginning Saturday May 23rd from noon to 9PM  (yes, I did just give you a special early heads up and thank you for reading our posts!), get some Good Vibrations in cans and/or growlers, take it home, crank up your favorite song while you’re chilling on that patio, and let the Good Vibrations flow!