After label typo, brewery owner assures: 'No seals were harmed in the making of this beer'

Erin Udell
Fort Collins Coloradoan

Despite a typo on 7,000 beer cans, the co-owner of Snowbank Brewing is jokingly assuring fans of the Fort Collins brewery that no seals were harmed in the making of its new Apres Ski lager. 

After designing and ordering the labeled cans late last year, pallets of the finished product arrived a few weeks ago, Snowbank Brewing co-owner Dave Rosso said. 

They looked great — the color was spot on, the design just right. There was only one problem. The cans, made for Snowbank's new flagship pale lager marked with subtle hints of a Persian lime puree and pink Himalayan sea salt had an extra letter on its labels. Instead of "sea salt," the cans' description read "seal salt." 

"When we got them, it was like, 'what do we do?' " Rosso said, adding that this is the brewery's first labeling typo. "We're usually pretty good at catching this stuff."

Snowbank Brewing's newest six packs feature a typo. Instead of "sea salt," the labeled cans read "seal salt," leading to some initial panic but an overall happy ending for the Fort Collins brewery.

The Snowbank Brewing crew ran through every possible fix, from tossing the Apres Ski cans entirely and placing a new order to ripping off the cans' shrink-wrapped labels to ordering new, typo-free labels and re-wrapping the cans with them.

For subscribers:33 Colorado-based breweries closed in 2020, but more pivoted to survive

Each option had its own problem. The first was too costly, the others too labor intensive. And all of them felt wasteful, Rosso said, estimating that ordering new labels and re-wrapping the cans alone would cost roughly $900.

Ultimately, they just decided to go with it.

"Let's just admit we made a mistake, laugh about it and move on with our lives," Rosso said. 

Soon, the brewery was canning its Apres Ski pale lager in the "seal salt" cans. And for good measure, Snowbank Brewing donated $900 — what it would have cost to re-wrap the cans with new labels — to the World Land Trust, a conservation charity dedicated to purchasing land and protecting the wildlife species that inhabit it.

About half of the 7,000 cans have been canned and sent out in six-packs to liquor stores. Others are also available at Snowbank Brewing. Rosso said the brewery will fill the other half of the "seal salt" cans next month. 

"After that, we'll be onto a new label ... with no typos," he said. 

RIP Simcoe:Snowbank Brewing pays tribute to beloved brew dog with limited release IPA

Sign up:Looking for a simple way to get Northern Colorado news? Coloradoan newsletters can help

Erin Udell reports on news, culture, history and more for the Coloradoan. Contact her at ErinUdell@coloradoan.com. The only way she can keep doing what she does is with your support. If you subscribe, thank you. If not, sign up for a digital subscription to the Coloradoan today.