Recreation Ale

Brian Steely is an artist and designer known for bold, graphic work that blends clean design with a strong sense of craft. With a background that bridges illustration and branding, he creates distinctive visuals that feel both timeless and unexpected. Whether he’s building identities or standalone artwork, Brian’s focus is always on strong concepts, meticulous detail, and pieces that people genuinely connect with.

"When I design a beer label, I treat it like a portal, an invitation to peek into another dimension. The goal is always the same: tell just enough of a story that the viewer can finish it themselves.

"With Cerveza, there’s a lot happening. The spark for this one was the Grateful Dead live album people lovingly call Skull & Roses—the one with Bertha huge on the cover. From there, I built my own twist: a Mexican Bertha tucked inside a building, quietly pulling the strings, literally controlling a couple of terrapins like puppets, while two griffins stand guard at the entrance.

"And what’s on the other side of that door? A delicious Mexican-Style Lager.

"For RecreationAle, the inspiration was Hartford ‘77. I wanted this label to feel like a day off in Terrapinland: everybody’s outside, getting their recreation in, while the beer quite literally flows through Hop Mountain.

"The whole scene is built around that idea of connectivity—the bridges, the paths, the river of lager, even the way the terrapins move through the landscape. It’s part playground, part map, part beer-powered ecosystem… where the only real destination is another beer.”

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Website: steelyworks.com

Instagram: @briansteely