PHOTOGRAPHY THIS SPREAD : COURTESY OF BREWERIES .
Twelve Guns Brewing r�� Twelve Guns is located on the main drag just outside bustling downtown Bristol , but it plans to move to Warren and build a new waterfront brewery and taproom by summer 2022 . The name for the eight-tap brewery comes from the early Rhode Island naval vessel , the U . S . S . Providence , which boasted twelve guns and served in the Revolutionary War under the Continental Navy . The ten-barrel brewery has a communal indoor space with visits from food trucks and popular popups as well as occasional live music and a back beer garden . WHAT TO DRINK : New fall beer varieties include Chocolate Coffee Blonde Stout , Oktoberfest and a Pumpkin Spice Chai Brown Ale . 549 Metacom Ave ., Bristol , 396-9009 , twelveguns brewing . com
More Than Just a Label
How some notable local beers got their names and who ’ s behind the designs .
By Lou Papineau
Long Live Beerworks owner Armando DeDona says , “ We are often inspired by mysticism and witchcraft . The Eye of Providence [ is ] in so many places , including the [ label of ] the All Seeing Eye . We ’ re not superstitious or religious , but the iconography is compelling and plays into the touch of darkness we like to use to counter our playful nature .”
Long Live ’ s Black Cat was spawned in the UK . “ I went to brewing school in Sunderland , England . The local football team was nicknamed the Black Cats . We had a contest to see whose beer would sell the fastest [ at pubs ], and Black Cat won by a landslide .”
“ A vast majority of our names come from songs and bands that I like : Through These Eyes is a favorite song by Social Distortion . Hopeless Romantic is a Bouncing Souls song . Days Months Years is by Booze and Glory . And all of the artwork is done in-house by Jess deBry , my partner ,” DeDona says .
Matt Gray , co-owner of Ragged Island Brewing Company , says the inspiration for Liquid Hugs “ came to me at dinner with friends one night . We were discussing some of the crazy names in the market and I said it would be fun to call a beer Liquid Hugs and they all laughed . That was a eureka moment !”
“ I like two-word names : Beach Night , Hoop House , Old Boys . Owning the farm [ the site of their new brewery ] led to Hoop House . Our favorite activity in the summer is meeting up with friends for a Beach Night .”
“ My wife , Katie , did the oil painting-style art on Beach Night and Hydrofoil and the watercolors on Aquidneck IPA ,” Gray says . “ The digital work is handled by our talented friend , Drew Appleton , co-owner of Gray Matter Marketing .”
Tilted Barn Brewery keeps it all in the family . Tanner Otis , director of business operations , explains : “ Violet and Libby are named for owners Kara and Matt Richardson ’ s daughters . Milo ’ s Phoenix and Tate the Great are named after their two sons . Tupelo and Summit are named after Kara and Matt ’ s farm dogs . Tupelo is a black lab and Summit was a yellow lab ; unfortunately , Summit passed away last year .”
Music also inspired many Tilted titles : Cactus , Lawn Boy , Stash and Is This Still Lawn Boy ? all nod to tracks and albums by Phish , and the Other One honors a fifty-yearold song by the Grateful Dead .
Otis notes that “ Kara does all of the artwork . She starts with a sketch , then uses a combination of magazine clippings and construction paper to make a collage . Then she scans it and sends it to her cousin , Erica , who flows the artwork into our label design layout .”
50 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l NOVEMBER 2021