Just when we thought we’d seen it all – a custom pair of Tröegs sneakers, a Renaissance-style portrait of our founding brothers, a bottlecap motorcycle trailering a tiny keg – our creative fans and followers surprised us with a collection of entries we could only have dreamed about when we kicked off our Art of Tröegs contest more than a decade ago.
This year, the contest was centered around Tröegs-inspired art and open to all mediums, and many of our favorites included Tröegs cardboard, bottles, cans and more.
We received close to 70 entries this year and judged them using four criteria: creative use of Tröegs artwork; concept/story; craftsmanship; and general awesomeness. In the end, our judges were wowed by a three-dimensional multimedia rendition of the Splinter Cellar, our wood-aging dream space.
The winning entry was created by Jim Howard and Bob Ressel of nearby York, PA. Jim teaches art and graphic design, and Bob teaches woodshop and engineering. They’ve collaborated on hundreds of projects over the years, but according to the longtime friends, this one was the most personal. Here’s what they had to say:
“We love Tröegs beer and make regular pilgrimages to the brewery,” said Jim and Bob. “Inspired by the spirit of Tröegs and its community, we created this piece. The Splinter Cellar represents the essence of experimentation and collaboration. What better way to use our talents than to craft a work that exemplifies this concept?”
Jim and Bob re-created the exterior of the brewery using 6-pack cardboard from a variety of Tröegs favorites, including Mad Elf, Nugget Nectar and Hop Knife. Through the cutout panel of windows and set back a couple of inches are 14-inch renditions of our 21-foot tall wood-aging foeders that the artists crafted out of corrugated caseboxes and strips of aluminum cans.
“We are so thankful that our local beer is also our favorite,” Jim and Bob said. “Our Splinter Cellar was crafted carefully and thoughtfully, leading to a deliciously tasty piece.”
Jim and Bob will split a $500 cash prize and will be the guests of honor at our third-annual Art of Tröegs Gallery opening this summer. Their piece also will take center stage in the gallery for the next year.
Jim and Bob's winning entry: a 3-D multimedia rendition of our Splinter Cellar!
We were so floored by all of the amazing pieces we received that we also decided to name two runners-up this year.
Our first runner-up is an embroidered denim jacket sewn by Lancaster, PA graphic designer Kayla Bryer. Honestly, we can’t decide whether to hang it in the gallery or slip it on for a chilly spring evening in the Beer Garden.
“I’m passionate about repurposing things to breathe new life into them,” Kayla said. “I found this denim jacket in a thrift shop and wanted to create a piece that was aesthetically interesting and practical. Each stitch is 100 percent by hand, and all of the patches were sewn by hand, as well. … The jacket took about 50 hours to design and complete and serves as a homage to Perpetual IPA.”
Kayla Bryer's hand-sewn-and-embroidered denim jacket
Finally, our second runner-up is Devin Watson, a designer from Baltimore, MD. His piece, titled “Troeganetics,” is a psychedelic interpretation of the Nator Racer that we pilot through the streets of Baltimore in the annual Kinetic Sculpture Race. And Devin knows that human-powered work of art well, as he has volunteered the past two years as part of the pit crew.
“Here you see the Troegenator riding on his self-powered hot rod with many Tröegs-inspired Easter eggs peppered throughout the poster. I threw in a ton of styles for this including Ed Roth's hot rod illustrations, Tibetan art, metal band posters, and Celtic, Greek, satyr and Krampus themes… and my own spin on just a crazy friggin bunch of stuff."
Devin Watson's "Troeganetics"
Congratulations to all of the winners, and a huge shoutout to everyone who got in on the art by painting, sculpting, writing, baking, beading, cutting out or carving an original piece. We loved each and every one of them. Next time you visit our brewery, make sure to take a spin around the gallery – it overlooks the Splinter Cellar – to see first-hand just how creative Tröegs drinkers are!
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