Young Dundee Artist Behind New Successful Beer

9th March 2009

The work of University of Dundee art student Heather Brennan has become something of a design phenomenon – while still at university – after her work was chosen to brand a new lager by Scottish drinks company BrewDog.

Heather’s work caught the eye of BrewDog MD James Watt after a competition to find a designer for their new drink brand, the UK’s first mass-market black lager, Zeitgeist.

The lager has been on sale for less than a week but already BrewDog have seen orders pour in from Italy, Sweden, Holland and Japan as well as the UK, giving Heather global recognition.

The 21-year-old has already had an art exhibition in London on the back of her beer designs and may now be set for similar abroad as the beer launches country by country. Attention by beer bloggers and fellow art students has seen her work being downloaded from the internet as well.

Heather is originally from Paisley, but moved to Dundee for her course – Illustration at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, which is part of the University of Dundee.

She said: “When I heard about Zeitgeist, I felt it would be a great opportunity to work to a live brief. 

“It’s a very different project from anything I had done before. We are urged to stay away from punk or alternative styles, so I felt that this was a real chance to express myself in a new way.

“I was really delighted and quite taken back by it all when I found out I had won – I was up against some strong competition.

“The exhibition was incredible. Seeing people walking about and looking at your work is quite nerve-wracking, but it’s fantastic when you gain positive feedback.

“My ideas for the work came from looking at what Zeitgeist means in contemporary times from an alternative view. The label represents conformity in today’s society, as people follow the higher authority.

“This sparked my interest in military line-ups and the repressing of their identity in masks and uniform. I’ve tried to emulate this with sheep masks, yet underneath the body shapes reveal personality underneath.

“My influences were from a variety of sources for this project, from artists work, such as Alex Pardee’s linework and Ralph Steadmans’ use of ink, to films like as Metropolis and 1984, anything set in a dystopian landscape.”

Heather’s work has also influenced the Zeitgeist website at www.zeitgeistbeer.com and the Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/zeitgeist_beer

BrewDog have taken the beer world by storm in just two years with controversial offerings like Speedball, Tokyo, Punk IPA and Trashy Blonde and are a global success with the USA and Sweden being amongst the countries lining up to buy 120,000 bottles of beer a month. In the UK, Brewdog beers can be found in Tesco, Asda, Oddbins and many other retailers.

BrewDog MD James Watt thinks Heather’s work compliments the new lager perfectly.

He said: “Heather literally captured the Zeitgeist. Her designs were fresh and challenging – a bit like what we are aiming to do with the new lager.”

Zeitgeist is a 4.9% ABV all-natural ingredients black lager that is set to tantalise those who sup its dark flavours, which include hints of chocolate and coffee.

It may seem an unusual colour for a lager, but according to BrewDog MD James Watt, it is the original colour of all lagers.

He said: “At BrewDog we’ve been looking to bring beers full of natural ingredients to the masses – and now we’re doing that with lager as lager used to be. We’re saying people have had enough of additive-fuelled bubbly nonsense.

“Originally, before the advent of modern pale malting technology, all lagers were black. Progress is not always a good thing. We want to wake up people’s tastebuds with this, let them discover the joys of a real, proper lager.”

For Heather, it’s now back to making sure that while doing Zeitgeist work, she also completes her final year – but she’s already looking to work with BrewDog again.

She said: “Working with James and the others was a fantastic experience and I’d love to do it again.”

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