Augmented reality bottle labels could change the way you view beer

By Albert Khoury Published September 5, 2017

No, you haven’t had too much to drink — that beer label is moving, thanks to augmented reality. You don’t need to visit a high-end market or tavern to see that craft beer is on the rise. Suds of all types from every corner of the country can be found at the corner deli or your favorite dive. Microbreweries peddling their wares in cities like Seattle, a city whose love of craft beer is on the rise, can get lost in a sea of delicious foam. That’s why one brewer turned to tech to augmented reality bottle labels to increase its visibility.

As reported by GeekWire, Snoqualmie Brewery and Taproom of Snoqualmie, Washington, has implemented augmented reality bottle labels for one of its products. A nearby art studio called The Medium was brought on to help.

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“When you’re staring at crowded shelves full of great offerings, you can’t taste the beer like you can in a pub, so the design is really all you have to attract that hand toward the bottle neck,” brewery manager Dave Eiffert told GeekWire.

When seen with the naked eye, the Sno Falls American Pale Ale artwork could be compared to that on any other colorful label. But if you download the free mobile app Layar, you can scan the label and watch it come to life.

A YouTube video shows the waterfall come to life; fish swim upstream against its current; a flock of birds flies by; and the brewmaster rides a barrel over the falls.

“The Medium has worked with the brewery for years creating new fun label design ideas and we had the idea to do an augmented reality label,” Josh Tuininga, creative director at The Medium, said. “After presenting the concept to the brewery we began design with Snoqualmie Falls as the theme. For the AR, we did some testing to make sure the technology would work on a bottle surface. After testing and design approvals, we started the fun part — animation.”

Unless you live in the area, you’re out of luck if you’d like to view these bottles firsthand. The beer can currently be found at Snoqualmie Safeway, Crescent Market at Snoqualmie Casino, Pourhouse in North Bend, IGA in Snoqualmie, the North Bend and Snoqualmie 76s, Family Grocer in Fall City, and the Snoqualmie Market.

You can also try your hand at brewing your own beer at home and find someone to help you make your own cool labels. Once this is done, try one these augmented reality apps to change how you view the world!

Former Weekend Editor

Al started his career at a downtown Manhattan publisher, and has since worked with digital and print publications. He's…

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