The Spicy Knight
A Futuristic take on a classic
During the first lockdown, like many others, I had a lot of time on my hands.
I had wanted to create a character-led product for a good while.
Over the lockdown, I planned out a few of my product-based ideas. After much deliberation, I chose to produce The Spicy Knight Ale due to having the connections and ability to put the product into production once the lockdown was lifted.
The aim was to create a character that represented and helped promote a product.
Firstly, I needed to come up with an ale that was worth producing. It had to be unique due to needing to stand out whilst only being a small-run product that could be scaled with time.
Secondly, I needed to design a character that represented the ale and be recognisable on a shelf.
Finally, I needed to get the final product produced and agreed upon for distribution.
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The First Steps
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Monthly Pay
Made to mirror the original small beer, brewed during the medieval period in England, typically for farmers and workers as part of their pay.
Beers like Monthly Pay were given to workers for rehydration and make-up for lost calories. -
Spicy Knight
Knights during the crusades would add spices collected on their travels to increase the potency and flavour of their brews due to the lack of flavourful foods and alcohol.
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We Sell Ice Cream Now
An IPA was made to reflect the alternative use of some breweries during the American prohibition.
Equipment was similar, so some breweries started to produce ice cream and other dairy products. -
Just Add Moon-Shine
Inspired by non-alcoholic beers produced during the prohibition in America. Many breweries started making alcohol-free beer to abide by the law, but that didn't stop patrons from adding moonshine.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Due to the product being sold in the Cotswolds, a beer with English history made sense. This narrowed the options to "Monthly Pay" and "Spicy Knight".
The final choice was "Spicy Knight". Ultimately, this project was about creating a character to represent the product, "Spicy Knight" was a character I saw potential in.
Next was developing the character to suit the product.
Spicy Knight Research Sketches
Expanding on the character, the intent was to dig into and really understand the aesthetic of the era.
Looking into the buildings, clothing, armour and weaponry. This gave great insight into how the character may present.
Although the research and subject matter was important to reference, the overarching goal was to add a futuristic twist.
The futuristic addition helps to move away from the religious and political issues surrounding the inspiration. Whilst still paying homage to British history.
Spicy Knight Future Sketches
Taking influence from SIFI pop culture, specifically the likes of Halo, Star Wars, Destiny, and 70's-80's cinema. I was able to come up with a few practical mock-up sketches of what the final character may look like.
Once the ideas were on paper, it was time to start thinking about getting the beer produced.
Church Han-Brewery
After searching for a local, sustainable brewery, I could not have gone wrong with Christian over at Church Han-Brewery. The beer produced is phenomenal and set a precedent for the type of product I wanted to create.
Not only were they running a tight ship, but it was sustainable. All the waste from brewing went to local farmland for composting and animal feed. They have a strict no-filtering policy on their beer, meaning the beer is fuller in flavour and purer. Not to mention, less water is wasted during the brewing process.
All of this and Church Han-Brewery was based in the heart of the Cotswolds. It was a perfect match.
The Secret Bit
The Secret Bit
After testing all the flavour profiles and intended outcomes, we all got to work brewing this limited-edition ale.
With the help of Christian's expert knowledge, we produced the beer I had been dreaming of for years!
A dark, rich, fruity, potent medieval ale that would be ready to market in less than 6 weeks.
It was time to find somewhere to sell it and finish the design.
Developing Spicy Knight
How many versions of Spicy Knight I ended up drawing, I could not say, but each one informed the next.
Experimenting with different styles allowed me to understand what would stand out in an incredibly saturated market.
The more drawings I completed, the more logic was applied to Spicy Knight's backstory and technology. Not that it mattered from a marketing perspective, but it helped inform my reasoning for adding or removing equipment.
Drummer’s Bar
Simon of Drummer's Bar, the perfect microbrewery in Witney, was a perfect match. Simon specialised in selling unique and independent beers from breweries all over South England.
Simon helped with selling and stocking the beer for locals through Church Han-Brewery.
Edit: Drummer's Bar is now under new ownership as of this post and has been renamed; The Crafty Pint.
THE FINAL KNIGHT
After all the drafting and deliberation, this was the final design for The Spicy Knight.
The background added subtle context to the existence of the sword and use of equipment by looking like a far-off world, in keeping by emanating the vast deserts trawled by the crusaders.
Final Product
Thank you for reading through this project. Here are some photos and merchandise from the launch night and beyond.
Every bottle of The Spicy Knight was SOLD OUT in less than 6 weeks and is now being produced every year during the winter.
