The brewery Beereratne in Victoria, Australia is one of the first breweries to label their beer with a NO AI symbol.
Ben Weereratne
Beereratne Brewing, a small brewery in the town of Lilydale, Victoria, Australia, has sharp, eye-catching can art. On the can are the usual requirements for Australia but just above the “do not consume alcohol while pregnant” warning there’s a simple message: NO AI USED.
Beereratne’s owner, Ben Weereratne, came up with the marker himself.
“Beereratne is just me – a one-man operation – and I do all my own design stuff solo,” said Weereratne. “I do know of other Australian artists who share my opinions on AI that gave me confidence that the logo would resonate. For me, its about communicating to my customers the values my brewery has. There is intent and care and consideration that go into every element of the beer, including the packaging.”
The No AI Used logo designed by Australian brewer Ben Weetakne. This is emblazoned on all his beer cans.
Ben Weertakne
Only two years ago, AI felt a bit like a novelty in the beer industry. Brewers were jokingly making recipes with it an those recipes were essentially laughed off.
Then, generative AI exploded and the art, also known as “slop” felt like it was everywhere.
Some breweries embraced it fully and at a base level it makes sense. Breweries may not have the budget or staff to create art and with rising costs squeezing small businesses, many breweries started to feature obvious generative art prominently as a way to talk about events or create content. But backlash in its use by customers can be severe, although breweries have been known to simply “hide” these negative comments on their social media channels.
The Rhode Island based Narragansett Brewery learned this when they posted an AI generated Star Wars post on May 4th and received many negative comments. The next day, they posted a light-hearted but meaningful retraction with the words “our AI social media robot has been FIRED.” This new post drew over 4000 likes vs. 800 for the original post.
Weereratne has seen the use of generative AI in Australia start to pick up as well.
“I recently did some freelance design work for a local brewery who had a specific design in mind, but when told how long it would take to make (and the cost), the response was ‘nah, just use AI to make it,”’ sighed Weereratne. “But for those that do care about this sort of thing, the ‘No AI’ label has been something they really appreciate and happy to see. At the recent Australian International Beer Awards, this beer can won a Gold in the Best Design category with the judges mentioning this logo specifically in their judging notes.”
Fancy ball at the Governor’s Palace, a man dressed as a Bass beer bottle, Valletta, the Duchess of Edinburgh at Malta, illustration from the magazine The Graphic, volume XV, no 380, March 10, 1877. The Bass triangle is one of the most recognizable symbols in the world and the first trademark in British history.
De Agostini via Getty Images
Art is a brewery’s identity. After all, the first British trademark ever issued was the famous Bass red triangle in 1876 after the passing of the Trade Marks Registration Act of 1875. You can see a label without words and know exactly who made it. It speaks to the character of the beer and shows, not tells, what your brewery represents as all good art and marketing does. Good branding involves consistency, passion and thought. A lot of breweries see the use of generative AI as a threat to their craft as well as artists themselves as beer labels are a creative, collaborative and unique way to showcase identity.
Weereratne is happy people are responding positively to this no AI logo. If other breweries or businesses are interested in using it for their own packaging he would be “100%” willing to share its use with the world. Please reach out to him via his website if you would like more information.