The Art of City Built Brewing
by Ale Sharpton
Beer aficionado Ale Sharpton talks dope can art with City Built Brewing’s Edwin Collazo.
The following article by Ale Sharpton was originally published in June 2023 in Issue 01 of Final Gravity, our print beer zine telling personal, human-centered stories about beer. You can order the print issue here, or subscribe here.
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It’s been an amazing journey documenting and exploring the brewing industry professionally since 1996. Under the moniker Ale Sharpton, it’s been an enjoyable prerogative to fuse my love of music, fashion, food, writing, photography, and—of course—the overall culture of ales and lagers.
And then there’s the art—the conceptualization and design of labels and cans. They must capture the eye, embrace the essence of the beer they aim to promote, and showcase the personality of the brewery responsible for the liquid. Among my list of favorites, there is a particular brewery that has been killing the art game since 2017.
Edwin Collazo (photo by Steph Harding)
Meet Edwin Collazo, the brewmaster and CEO of City Built Brewing, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, one of the most revered beer-centric destinations in America. Already going against the grain being one of the only brewery owners of Puerto Rican descent in the nation, Edwin’s constantly in a competitive space, so his IPAs, sours, stouts, lagers and, yes, marketing must be extraordinary. It’s safe to say he’s checking all the boxes. Focusing specifically on his creative process and how he continues to commission award-winning can designs which represent beers that are equally captivating, I had a brew at his always festive City Built headquarters.
“We typically brew the beer and talk to the artist about the name for the beer and ideas about the recipe design,” Edwin says when asked about the initial creative process. “We allow for the artist to lean into their own creative process. We typically make no alterations to the label outside of beer details. We let people rest in their strength and it usually leads to a great result.”
And who are these artists?
“Since 2020, we have worked mainly with two artists,” Edwin says. “Kyle DeGroff is a Michigan-based artist with a passion for partnering with local businesses. Over the last few years, Kyle has partnered with City Built on branding, promotional materials, and numerous can designs. He’s incredibly detailed and thorough, yet never fails to see the larger value and impact he can deliver through his creative work.”
“Aaron McCall is a freelance graphic designer and an independent artist with a focus on branding and illustration,” Edwin continues. “Aaron has been working closely with us to create label artwork that sets the tone for the experience with the beer inside the can. We never know what he’s going to come up with, but he always delivers something wildly creative and spot-on for the project."
Almost analogous to picking his favorite child (he has three), I asked Edwin what his favorite can designs are that we should include in this feature. After a pensive freeze, he made his decision. Edwin’s first pick was the artwork created for The Fibonacci Series, a beer brewed to fit a sequence birthed by ancient Indian mathematics which an Italian mathematician later introduced to Western Europe.
“The Fibonacci Series kicks off my first selection since it was our introduction to Kyle Degroff and Degroff Design,” Edwin says. “He opened our eyes to the potential of highlighting local art to match the delicious fluid in the cans.”
On Degroffdesign.com, Kyle’s work is described as “creating engaging work that sparks joy, creates intrigue, and entices the audience to inquire for more.” Surreal, psychedelic, and trippy with a swirling pattern fusing earth and pastel colors, I definitely dig it.
“The Prague Underground is my second since it really played a key role in learning the capacity of our printer making the art pop,” Edwin continues. “It also won a few awards for label art.”
Designed by Elliot Chaltry, also with Degroff Design, the Prague boasts a vibrant, possessed lion radiating hues of red, white, black, and orange, biting on the City Built logo. Definitely a stunner.
“And last,” Edwin concludes, “Pretty much every can we have gotten from Aaron McCall has been dope; specifically, the Fluffy Unicorn can, which highlights Aaron's signature skulls which also won the USAToday’s 10Best Label of the Year.”
This one perfectly marries negative space with vibrant colors, while maintaining McCall’s fascination with skulls. Extraordinarily pleasing to the eye. Rest assured, the beer is just as dope as its container.
Dennis Malcolm Byron, aka Ale Sharpton, is a world-renowned beer authority, award-winning journalist, photographer, and consultant. Although a native New Yorker and a Cornell University alumnus, Ale proudly calls Atlanta his home. You can follow his globetrotting for beer, art, fashion, cars, and everything else cool at AleSharpton.com, on Instagram @realalesharpton, and on Twitter @alesharpton.