English brewery Adnams is rolling out a full redesign of its core beer range, across both the off and on-trade.
Established in 1872, East Anglia-based Adnams celebrated its 150th birthday in 2022, and is now on a mission to ‘clearly define its vision for the future’.
To that end, it is highlighting the rich history of its stretch of England’s East coast, with the packaging of its ‘coastal brews’ reimagined by Adnams and Brighton-based design studio CookChick, with local artist Vanessa Sorboen.
Each beer now has its own unique painting, illustrating it origins and story. From looking out to the North Sea or inland, the range’s new designs aim to capture ‘a true 360 view of Adnams’ proud East Anglian heritage’.
Head of production, Fergus Fitzgerald, said: “There are two main aims of the redesign. Firstly, it allows us to bring all our beers back under one unified look.
“Beers like Mosaic and Dry Hopped have been two of our core beers for a while and whilst having a different look made sense in the early days, bringing them together again reflects the fact that our brewers use the same great quality ingredients and the same skill and dedication when brewing a beer, regardless of whether the recipe comes from 1872 or from 2024.
“Secondly, the new branding really brings out that sense of place and connection to where these beers are made,” said Fitzgerald. “The paintings tell the stories and showcase the beauty of the landscapes that inspired those beers. I hope that this reminds existing Adnams drinkers why they first fell in love with that beer, and that those who don’t know us so well see something in the waters to inspire that first sip.”
Kegs, casks, bottles and cans of Adnams’ Ghost Ship 0.5% Pale Ale, Ghost Ship 4.5% Pale Ale, Mosaic Pale Ale, Dry Hopped Lager, Southwold Bitter, and Broadside will all showcase the new, bespoke designs.
The company added that investment in cask was key to the redesign project, providing an opportunity to draw consumers into the cask category. Adnams claims a strong history of investing in cask and was one of the first breweries to feature moulded pump clips in pubs, so it was important that the redesign encompassed a new and innovative offering for the on trade.
Sales director Max Bond said: “Cask beer is our national drink and has a key role to play in all great pubs. Adnams’ new innovative pump clip designs will create excellent stand out in pubs and will attract new drinkers to take a fresh interest in the cask category and taste beer at its best.”
Ghost Ship 0.5% Pale Ale, the UK’s best-selling low and no ale in the on-trade, launched in December 2023 in the new design, with a slimline can format joining the range in response to the growing consumer demand for low alcohol options in ready-to-drink formats.
Broadside and Ghost Ship 4.5% Pale Ale bottles will be the first to launch from 2nd April, with the rest of the range to follow throughout April and early May.
Two new Adnams brews will also launch on April 4th as part of the refresh – Big Skies, a Double Dry-Hopped IPA; and Deep Seas, a Belgian-style Blonde.
Head of Brand and Creative at Adnams, Jess Turner, said: “If you looked at our beers on the shelf, it was starting to feel like a timeline of Adnams’ design. There was the need for some stronger brand recognition to help customers shop across the range and explore other Adnams beers.
“The project aimed to unify our range and bring them closer together – so they felt part of a clear Adnams family. There is a real sense of customer ownership across our beers, so it was important that we recognised that and maintained their individuality. These are fabulous beers with strong stories and we’re really proud of them.”
Artist Vanessa Sorboen said: “It was a fascinating experience working on the Adnams range. Jess and the team at CookChick were fantastic at guiding me through what they wanted me to paint and where the features needed to be placed, to work alongside all the other elements that would appear on the final product. It all had to fall in a specific area.
“As someone who paints freely, to have to think of the components within the composition and consider perspective and how the scene wraps around the canvas, which in this case, is the beer can, bottle or pump clip – was an intriguing challenge.”
