By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
A Great Bend artist has embraced one of Barton County’s biggest attractions to make even cans of beer artistic.
Yuchen Wang-Boswell used inspiration from
Cheyenne Bottoms for the latest beer label at Dry Lake Brewing in Great Bend.
The beer, called Cheyenne Bottoms UP, is a lager now available to purchase in
cans at Dry Lake.
Yuchen has always loved the outdoors and the wetlands, just northeast of Great
Bend. The instructor of media communications and production at Barton Community
College set to work on her first beer can label this summer.
"Whenever we go to Cheyenne Bottoms, I just love the color in the early mornings or late afternoons," said Wang-Boswell. "That inspired me the most. At the time of designing this beer can label, I was pregnant so I couldn't drink it. I had to talk to my friends that love this lager. I also allegedly harassed customers to describe the vibe of the beer."
This past spring, Yuchen created the artwork for a mural on Dry Lake Brewing’s
back garage door depicting Lake Barton. Dry Lake co-owners Ryan Fairchild and
Kevin Burkey knew they wanted a similar design for select beer cans.
"We knew we were going to be doing cans at some point and purchased a small can setup," said Fairchild. "Yuchen was showing us her work to help design our back garage door artwork. Kevin and I both thought that would make a really cool label for Cheyenne Bottoms."
Wang-Boswell's original design for the label started as a postcard. After Dry Lake showed interest in the design, Yuchen began to rescale the artwork for a beer can.
"I adjusted the colors a little to match the vibe of this beer," said Wang-Boswell. "I've never designed a beer can before, so I learned a lot about the information that goes on a can."
Four-packs of the Cheyenne Bottoms UP beer cans are available for purchase in
the tap room at Dry Lake Brewing while they last.
"The wetlands are peaceful and calm," said Wang-Boswell. "I hope that comes across in the design for this label."