Introducing Dundead IPA with Holy Goat

Likewise! We're very happy to be a part of Dundead this year. 

Holy Goat began four and a half years ago in Dundee, started by Johnny Horn and myself. Johnny was looking to start a new brewery after moving on from another brewery he co-founded called Vault City. I had complementary skills from founding a games studio and a career in media. From the outset there was a strong idea for the branding, with an emphasis on illustration and themes taken primarily from heavy music genres like Doom Metal and Sludge. 

Likewise with the beer styles there was a clear direction from the start, as Johnny was keen to centre production around an unusually long fermentation process that gives the beers a distinct full-flavoured fruity character. Over the last year or two we’ve started to diversify our range, still mainly producing fruited sours but now with regular stout beers and IPAs. The core music aesthetic and focus on making high quality beers will always be at the heart of what we do.

There's a long history of metal bands taking inspiration from macabre imagery ,where album artwork can often look like horror movie posters. The mutual fascination in horror and heavy music with themes of gore and darkness gives us plenty to explore. 

We were lucky to work with a talented artist called Jimbob Isaac from the beginning who helped get the visual identity heading in the right direction. I initially focussed on the graphic design, making sure everything was consistent, thematic and showcased the illustrations well. Over time I started to do more of the illustrations myself and I now do the majority of them, although it's also a great platform to showcase amazing artists so I like to get others involved wherever possible. 

There is typically a simple jumping off point, maybe the name of a band or song that leads to a solid idea. There are usually three or four new labels every month so a lot to work with consistently. A good example would be a beer we did called Holy Mountain, as that illustration was directly inspired by Alejandro Jodorowsky’s film of the same name (a film that I first saw in the DCA as it happens).