Drawing inspiration from the “Agora” word, which means “gatherings,” Agora Bar&Restaurant in Greece felt that this is the right moment to launch its own label of beers. Chris, the owner of the location, had this in mind for a very long time but only now he let his dreams become reality. After long-term research and experimentation, he came up with two recipes of which he is really proud. Sure, the taste of the drinks might pamper your taste buds but you know what is even cooler than this? The stories that come along with the experience of serving a fresh ale.
Written and narrated by the creative minds at SOUL agency, the story for each beer has its roots in ancient Greece. Somewhere between 620 and 564 BCE, to be more specific, when Aesop lived, a Greek fabulist and storyteller credited with a number of fables, which are now collectively known as Aesop’s Fables. His parables were initially addressed to adults but from the Renaissance onwards, they were used for the education of children. The Athens-based agency takes two of Aesop’s Fables and turns them into new stories for adults who are passionate about a good beer and an ancient tale.
The first fable is attributed to the Imperial Stout and is inspired by “The Fox & the Grapes,” which has a simple moral: That it is easy to understate the significance of what one can’t reach and nothing comes easily without hard work. “The Fox & the Hops” was born, a story about a fox that wanted to make its own beer. According to the animal, the drink was missing something. Aha! It was hops! This is why the fox is spotted roaming free on the fields in search of the perfect ingredient. The bunch hung from a high branch and the fox had to jump for it. Sadly, it missed it by a long way. But the second time is a charm, isn’t it? Actually, no, because the fox missed the hops again. Now, it sat down and looked at the hops in disgust.
The packaging for the American Pale Ale draws its inspiration from “The Lion in Love,” a fable that speaks about the fact that nobody should ever give up an essential part of oneself due to love. The adapted parable carries the name “The Lion in Love with American Pale Ale” and features the adventures of a lion that tasted the ale and fell in love with it. Now, he wanted more, so he went out to see where the beer is hosted. “Ah, a bar! The beer is definitely there!”, said the lion. It wasn’t wrong. Yet, the barman advised the feline to remove its claws and extract its teeth, because it “scares the fish away.” The lion was so much in love with the American Pale Ale that it had his claws trimmed and his big teeth taken out. The moral? Love can tame even the wildest animal.
The SOUL creatives translated these stories into visuals, which are now embroidered on the labels of the two beers. “Using one-color silkscreen print in the place of a label gives it a classical character and it is treated like a selectionist’s article. Every beer has its own moral printed on the back of the bottle. Furthermore, a toolkit has been created consisting of visuals adapted to every type of application, ranging from coasters and beer pump badges up to the lanterns used for the outdoor sign of the restaurant,” said the artists behind the project.
Being inspired by Aesop, the agency succeeded in introducing the aesthetic codes of the beer in combination with the casual and creative character of the microbrewery labels. Their idea was to create a packaging that gives to the beer-lovers the feeling of a high-quality, hand-made product.
