Kook Slams, the beer. For real, it’s here! It’s a limited edition I.P.A. from Duck Foot, a brewery from the capital of I.P.A. craft beer, San Diego, California. The beer stood out from among the hundreds on the shelves at a supermarket in a beach town where we had been recently vacationing north of the city.
The can design immediately drew our attention. It’s a wrap-around illustration in a retro-1980’s style showing a guy posing on a Segway at the shoreline and chugging a beer, oblivious to the frothing overhead wave that’s about to come crashing down on him. It’s brilliant and funny.
And, of course, the name got our attention, too. The beer was most definitely inspired by the popular Instagram account Kook Slams, which posts videos of people, mostly novice surfers, getting slammed by unforeseen incoming waves or misjudging the shore break while doing all manner of activities, including taking selfies on the beach. Some of the “kooks” are engaging in Jackass-like stunts, like attempting to jump into a pool from a roof, that end painfully, i.e., not in the pool. The Insta feed is hilarious, at times scary and shocking, and for many caught on video, it’s perhaps a little embarrassing.
Anyway, the beer, as I.P.A.s go, is excellent. We’ll buy it again. The can design-concept is excellent, too. We love it!
GLOBAL GRAPHICA 