The TGR x Melvin Pilsgnar is Back

Thanks to illustrator Kelly Halpin, the Pilsgnar got a fresh new look.  

Our recent work with Melvin Brewing to create the TGR Pilsgnar is a pretty special collaboration. That’s right, we have our very own beer. The Pilsgnar was designed to be an easy brew to throw into your pack for celebrating a day spent on the hill. 

Melvin Brewing was born out of the back of a Thai restaurant right in our backyard of Jackson, Wyoming. The local brand has steadily grown to win Small Brewpub of the Year at GABF 2015 and even expand to a 30 barrel production facility in Alpine, Wyoming. When we reached out to their brewmasters for help in creating the beverage, we knew they’d craft us something delicious.

But a TGR x Melvin Brewing collaboration wouldn’t be authentic without a Melvin character to represent the essence of the new beer. These characters, which range from Killers Bees to 2x4, are the signature aesthetic of the brewery. Kelly Halpin, illustrator and local mountain athlete, has been the creative genius behind the quirky cast of Melvin personalities since the beginning. 

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A post shared by Kelly Halpin (@kyehalpin) on Jan 24, 2019 at 7:47am PST

For each character design, it always begins with a background story. “With Hubert, I was told to design a hipster from Portland who likes to smoke from a pipe,” she explains. “Or one time the creative direction was Mad Max meets Ninja warrior.” Using these wacky background stories are a lot of fun for Halpin, giving her a lot of creative freedom to experiment.

For the Pilsgnar, the inspiration was pretty straightforward: take one of the TGR athletes and morph them into something wacky. The result is your stereotypical ski bro, with a robotic twist. The decision to make him into a robot came from the dilemma of what to do with his face. None of Melvin’s characters actually have faces, all part of the look. So, Halpin’s solution was to mechanize the skier completely. As far as which specific TGR athlete was Halpin’s creative muse, she doesn’t credit just one, but rather a combination of a few veterans. “I kind of blended Nick McNutt, Colter Hinchliffe, and Tim Durtschi into one,” she explained. Halpin, who’s actually good pals with Hinchliffe and McNutt, thought it was humorous to create something based off of her friends.

The final can design was polished off by our in-house graphic designer Austin Branham. He decided to play around with Melvin’s usual can design to have more a TGR flair. “The cans usually have a color bar on the bottom, and I suggested doing it with the mountain range instead,” he said. The final result is a bit more illustrative and representative of the TGR look, all while staying true to Melvin's brand. All in all, this light and delicious beer pairs perfectly with a tailgate session after slashing through chest deep pow.  Drink up because it's available now!

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It all began with a dream and a little cash scraped together from fishing in Alaska... Since 1995, we've been an action sports media company committed to fueling progression through our ground-breaking films (37 and counting) and online content.