By Kyle Kirves

Yes, I had an Iron Maiden “Aces High” poster in my room when I was a teenager. Ah, that brilliant combination of comic-book campiness and undead menace was a beautiful thing lost on people like ... well, my mother.

So it’s no surprise that Bootstrap Brewing’s Insane Rush IPA label artwork really appeals to me. Done up in moonlight blue, a herd of frantic, bloodshot-eyed rabbits flees a coiled rattlesnake that, from the looks of things, slithered right in when they were sleeping. Cats clearly have no trademark on sly smiles, either, Alice. That’s a smirk that might say either “Let’s play,” or “Let’s eat.” Hell, maybe there’s no difference to a snake.

A lot of thought went into that can art. Three years ago, when Bootstrap first started bottling their 22-ounce bombers, the labels bore animal images that co-owner and “Chief of Stuff” Officer Leslie Kaczeus painted herself. Nice artwork, to be sure. But for their can campaign, Kaczeus and husband Steve opted to go “all in” with a fully realized artistic vision. “The branding on the cans, we recognized very early, was going to be an investment for us,” says Kaczeus. “We wanted it to be the real deal. So we sought out people who are the very finest at what they do.”
Enter Boulder-based Moxie Sozo, a design and advertising agency with an impressive portfolio. Moxie Sozo’sgoal was to make a can that wasn’t just another item sitting in the liquor store’s crowded cooler, but something that people would want to pick up.

“Eighty percent of the time, if a consumer picks up the product, they’re going to put it in the cart. Our job is to get them to pick it up,” said Leif Steiner, creative director and founder of Moxie Sozo. “After that, it’s all up to the product in the can to create that second purchase and begin brand loyalty.”

Leslie Kaczeus said it was all about the hops … and hopping.

“We talked to Moxie Sozo first about what the beer is,” she said. “And Steve said flat out that there is a crazy amount of hops in this one. It’s not a huge leap from crazy hops to insanely rushing rabbits. It just fits.”

It isn’t just snakes and rabbits in that scene. Look again and you’ll see a scorpion lurking underfoot. And a cowbell, too. Why? Because Kaczeus links Bootstrap’s beers with food and she also suggests an appropriate soundtrack. “Insane Rush goes with AC/DC, Great White, the Scorpions,” she said.

And the cowbell?

“It’s an homage to the SNL skit, which is a favorite.
And also because, well, who doesn’t want more cowbell?” she
says, smiling and shrugging. “More Cowbell” is something of an unofficial slogan and rallying cry at Bootstrap – a reference found both above the bar and on the grill of the official Boostrap van. Clearly Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken’s legacies are now secure in the beer world.

One of the can’s most characteristic appointments is not the art itself, but the surface. The matte finish subdues the reflection and really allows the art to pop off the can and not be obscured by shine. By touch, it is unlike most cans out there, appealing to more senses than just the eye.

Taken all together, Insane Rush IPA is one of those rarities where the art on the outside of the can mirrors the quality and attention to detail inside – demonstrating love of great beer and a comically edgy attitude that’s 100-percent Bootstrap.

So pop the top, crank the cowbell, and get a little crazy with this classic (rock) India Pale Ale.

-Kyle Kirves is a solid dude who believes drinking beer should be a ‘five senses’ experience.