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Northern Monk teams up with meme artist on beer can design
Chris (Simpsons artist) might not be a household name just yet, but his internet following is huge. The recent can collaboration with Northern Monk showcases his signature, unsettling style.
Despite having 1.4 million Facebook followers, remarkably little is known about the artist currently known as ‘Chris (Simpsons artist)’, except for that he may live in Scotland. His works are a meme masterclass in the unnerving – taking the familiar, but adding grotesque/amusing elements.
Some might compare him to Hieronymus Bosch, or Pablo Picasso, but the bizarre humour is very specific to that of the online generation. Among his most popular pieces is the ‘bee child‘, which shows a woman cradling a large bee.
His design for Northern Monk’s new 7% ABV DDH IPA is also disturbing, yet compelling. Named ‘Nice toe meet you’, it depicts two men interlocking toes in the name of friendship. The top of the can reads: “How to make friends with strangers: link toes with a stranger of you choice to show them you are a caring person and you mean them no harm”.
db has reached out to Chris (Simpsons artist) and asked why that particular design was chosen for the product, though Northern Monk has insisted that it is not an indication that the beer tastes of feet.
The brewery tweeted a backstory to the partnership in the style of a Chris (Simpsons artist) caption: “We met a man called Chris at a car boot sale and he told us he did drawings and we said we make beer and he said he had heard of beer and liked it, and we said we had seen his drawings and liked them and we asked if we could put his drawings on a beer and this is what we have gone and done.”
Though it might seem to be an unconventional branding decision, it has already attracted attention on social media from fans of Chris’ creations, and the cans could well have value as collectibles.
As for the beer itself, the Leeds-based brewer described it as: “Tropical with a floral lime twist and underlying dank pine.” A 440ml can is available from the online shop for £6.20.
Last year, Northern Monk was ranked by as one of the UK’s best independent breweries. To read the full list, click here.
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