Asheville's Highland Brewing says goodbye to Scotsman logo

 

By Dathan Kazsuk


For 24-years that famous Scotmans on the label of Highland Brewing bottles has given us that congenial look on his face, toasting you with a beer in one hand and his trusty bagpipe in the other. 

But Highland's is bidding him farewell, sending him to eat haggis in the big castle in the sky. The Asheville brewery is re-branding, and part of that is creating a new logo with the help of Helms Workshop out of Austin, Texas. 

"We've been refreshing our brand through our beer for over two years," says Highland President Leah Wong Ashburn, referring to the company's new beers and the introduction of cans to the market. "Because we lead with beer. But in doing that, we created a divide between our beer and our brand. It's time to close the divide," she says.

So that will lead to a total of four new concepts that Highland will follow: authenticity, pride in its Asheville home, consistently excellent beer and last, but not least, leadership. As Ashburn likes to put it, "We are Asheville's pioneers in craft beer."

Highland has been working with Helms Workshop for six months of extensive research and development. The firm's depth of experience in craft beer and working with heritage brands, along with a personal tie to the Asheville area, made the choice clear.

The brewery will unveil an entirely new look in its labels, packing, point of sales, marketing and even some new changes in the brewery's tasting room. But what can we expect from the new labels? Well, the new logos will sport imagery of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a bold and iconic pioneer's compass and the clear messaging for the brewery.

The new look will hit the streets in February.  

Highland Brewing was founded in 1994 as the city’s first brewery in a downtown basement in Asheville, North Carolina, by retired engineer and entrepreneur Oscar Wong. Now distributed in 7 states and with an annual production exceeding 46,000 barrels.