Delirium Tremens

Voted Best Beer in the World in 1998 here in Chicago at the World Beer Championship. Drinking it is on my to do list but in the mean time I've been admiring the packaging and label of this prestigious beer. It comes in an opaque cream colored bottle unlike any other beer I've seen. The bottle is painted to appear as cologne ceramic. It is corked and covered in foil at the top. The label is simple and contains one pink elephant and a few crocodiles as well as a some dragons dancing on yellow balls. I looked for the artists name and came up empty handed. All I found was that a flunked out art student came up with the design in turn for a case of brews. By the time the bottles were sold out and in circulation it was too late to change the design. I love it. Its weird and simple and the colors play well with the ceramic like bottle and foil top.

"Delirium Tremens" is said to be the sickness experienced when going through alcohol withdrawals. Symptoms include hallucinations often times of the "pink elephant" is associated with these. Beyond the simple contour illustration of the elephant and the accenting characters, the type found on the label is very interesting. It is a decorative hand type. For me I see hints of old english type and french nouveau curves. It plays well with the line variation of the contour pictures and yet stands out from them in a good way. All in all the bottle caught my eye down in the clear glass cooler at Kuma's Corner before I found out it was the greatest beer in the world at one point. Well done on the packaging and illustrations my belgian ale friends.