Noble Rey Brewing stacks deck with great-looking cans

A spike in competition from an increasing number of new breweries is not news. With every month, finite shelf space becomes even more valuable and scarce.

Established breweries feel that pressure as much as newbies. For people to buy your beer, they have to see it.

Sometimes breweries with great beers can be passed over by consumers because of mediocre or bad packaging. Sometimes breweries that produce only a fair product that’s in an attractive package can do quite well for themselves (at least for a little while).

Marketing and design are just as important to the beer business — if not more — than the beer inside. Just ask big brewers who spends millions on marketing.

Relative Dallas newcomers Noble Rey Brewing understand this also. Anyone can have a nice color scheme or fun icons for each of its beers. Hundreds of breweries have clean, eye-pleasing and ignored packaging. There are very few that take beer packaging and do something unique and truly different.

Illustrated and designed by Dallas artists known as Magnificent Beard, Noble Rey’s cans fully justify being labeled as distinct. Coming up with a character for each beer is not a completely new concept (Great Divide Brewing in Denver does it nicely). But the way that Noble Rey makes each character a major part of the personality of the beer through its packaging is truly a work of art that really comes together when six packs are stacked on top of one another.

With each beer’s character’s head on the bottom of one side of the can and the body on the top of the other side, the comic book-style characters are adorable and effective.

Its Steam Punk Lager’s character is a gear-adorned sci-fi heroine and Baracus is a brown ale modeled after Mr. T. Golden Rey is a kingly Bavarian wit and Off the Leash’s character is a leather-clad guy in a bondage mask (and a happy one at that).

Mixing and matching heads and bodies makes for an amusing visual as well. The concept is solid and eye catching whether done “properly” or not.

The beers also have substance with the style. Off the Leash is a particularly good interpretation of a red ale and Steam Punk is an interesting take on the California common style that was made famous by California’s Anchor Steam.

It’s rare that beer looks so good on a shelf that the rack looks like a work of art. But that’s exactly what happens when Noble Rey’s beers are displayed correctly in a store.

And that’s the real genius at play here. By its beers looking so good when stacked two (or more) packs on top of one another, stores have an incentive to display more of each of its beers.

A brewery can have the sharpest looking packaging on the shelf, but the ultimate desire is to stand out. And if you don’t? You unfortunately become well-done background noise.

Noble Rey is sure to see dividends paid by employing great design.

Quick Sips

North Texas Firkin Fest: The only punches landed this Saturday around Globe Life Park in Arlington will be from mallets hitting spiles and taps as the North Texas Firkin Fest enters it second year.

The Rangers are in Houston this weekend, so the festival, held on the picnic grounds across Ballpark Way on the stadium’s south side, should be more navigable that one might expect. Tickets are $40-$80 with designated-driver tickets $10. http://ntxfirkinfest.com/

Rabbit Hole’s Wonderland: Entering its third year, Summer in Wonderland will be held at Rabbit Hole Brewing, 608 Topeka Ave., Justin. Tickets are $15-$30. The event includes special beers, crafts for kids and adults as well as other guest breweries. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. May 28. www.rabbitholebrewing.com.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 7:26 AM with the headline "Noble Rey Brewing stacks deck with great-looking cans."