Talley Cat Sunflower is our latest IPA release from the Propagator R&D brewhouse in Venice. It’s a limited-release collaboration between Brewmaster Matt Brynildson and his long-time friend and legendary brewer, Jenn Talley.
Over 25 years ago, Jenn and Matt met at a two-week brewing program at the premier brewing school, Siebel Institute of Technology. Bonding over a love of the Grateful Dead and beer, Jenn and Matt began a lifelong friendship.
They recently reunited to brew a West Coast IPA together and had a very clear vision for the can label design. We partnered with Nachi Eltit, a graphic designer and illustrator based on California’s central coast, to bring Talley Cat Sunflower to life.
— Nachi EltitMy favorite aspect of the design is the flower people. I love how their starry attire came out and the idea of them being half human, half sunflower. And of course, the lion and the bear.
A few things that influence her work are nature, mid-century design, music (especially psych, soul, and rock & roll) and her Australian Shepherd, Buster.
The Talley Cat beer label was inspired by a famous Grateful Dead tune called “China Cat Sunflower.” To begin her process, Nachi dove deeply into the lyrics and wrote down a list of elements that she could integrate into the design.
In the song, there’s a line that says something about a “dream night wind” and that was her main starting point. She wanted to capture the dreamy yet trippy essence of this ambiguous song.
We were going for a 1960’s poster vibe, so it all just naturally came together.
About the Artist
It wasn’t until college that everything clicked. Nachi grew up with crayons and markers in her hand and it always seemed like the natural path for her to pursue a creative career. Although she wasn’t totally sure what to do with it, Nachi blindly went for a degree in illustration at Cal State Fullerton, thinking “this is what I’m best at, so why not?”, but had no idea of her future career after graduation.
She couldn’t see herself as a fine artist or book illustrator but took a graphic design class as a prerequisite and it was like a lightbulb turned on in her head. So she ended up getting her BFA in both graphic design and illustration.
“The two go hand in hand for me and I’m so happy I decided to go for both. During my time at CSUF, I worked as a sign artist at Trader Joe’s which is when I further developed my love for typography. Little did I know it would make such a significant impact on my career.”
Most of her work revolves around bold, organic typography, the natural world and mysticism. Nachi draws most of her inspiration from psychedelia, specifically concert posters from the 1960s. Victor Moscoso and Wes Wilson are her favorite artists from the time.
— Nachi EltitI’m so happy with how the label turned out and I can’t wait to see this beer in the wild. It was an incredible opportunity working with Firestone Walker and the design team.
Limited release west coast IPA
Talley Cat Sunflower IPA is a California-only release, available online and at our three locations. Stock up on these limited 16oz 4-packs before they sell out.
