Friendly Fire
Beer wars: Petrol Station mocks Hay Merchant with a crafty insult, but no sudsare shed
The Petrol Station posted the artwork for a growler on Tuesday.The Petrol Station/Facebook
Kevin Floyd promises to fill the mocking growlers with the hoppiest beer on tap,for the cheapest price possible.Photo by Alex Gregg/Flickr
It mimics the typography from the Hay Merchant's custom-designed logo.Photo via The Hay Merchant/Facebook
The Petrol Station released a new growler logo earlier this week that's an outright imitation of the one employed by Hay Merchant, Bobby Heugel and Kevin Floyd's Montrose watering hole/craft beer paradise.
If the likeness wasn't immediately apparent in the tell-tale typography (with its flat baselines and flourished descenders), or in the identical haystalk silhouette peeking from behind, then it became crystal clear in the banner beneath — "The Poor Man's Hay Merchant," it reads.
"They did a really, really good job," Floyd laughed. "Then I totally forgot about it." &
But it's all in good fun: Petrol Station proprietor Ben Fullelove acknowledged the jab as a mutual joke, and the Hay Merchant enthusiastically re-posted the Petro logo on Facebook and Twitter.
Petrol Station has had a growler program for years, where patrons can fill up half-gallon jugs with any beer on tap and take them to go. The Hay Merchant instituted one, too, when it opened in February of this year.
Floyd told CultureMap that the idea for a mocking logo came about months ago, before the Hay Merchant even opened, during a conversation with Fullelove at Petrol Station.
"I told him that it sounded like a great idea," he said. "Then I totally forgot about it."
When the Petrol Station posted the artwork on Tuesday, Floyd was surprised. And impressed — the original font was custom-designed for the Hay Merchant's logo, not something that could just be easily recreated.
"They did a really, really good job," Floyd laughed.
He said that he doesn't see the other craft beer bar as a competitor — they're in completely different areas, with completely different philosophies — but rather a cross-town collaborator.
Once the Petrol Station growlers become available, Floyd promises to fill them with the biggest, hoppiest beer on tap, and sell them at the cheapest price possible.
