Brewers expanding Retro Friday uniforms

[BallWonk]

I think athletic gold is closer to beer (especially American lager) than metallic gold, so the old color scheme says "beer" more to me.

Agreed, just so long as we're not confusing MGD with beer.

[Gothamite]

It's a lot closer to beer than Bud, I'll give it that. Rice?!

But they're still sex in a canoe, as my English wife likes to say.

[Bucks6thMan]

I wouldn't mind it if they went back to the "retros" full-time (I think the Lids in Downtown Milwaukee had more ball-in-glove caps than "modern" caps). They're not perfect, but better than what they have now AND it would require them to put MILWAUKEE on the roads for the first time in what seems like forever.

[Gothamite]

I'm not surprised that they had more throwback caps - the throwbacks have been huge sellers (nationally) for a while. At one point, it was the #1 throwback cap.

Anything that puts "Milwaukee" on the chest of the road grays is okay with me. One oughtn't be ashamed of one's home town.

[Epiphanic]

As Ball Wonk as stated, the ball-in-glove logo is tremendously generic and says essentially nothing about Milwaukee or Brewing. The only thing it has going for it is that it is tied to the "glory years" of Milwaukee baseball. As far as it being so popular with the fans, that nostalgia probably has something to do with it. Is it possible that the ball-in-glove's popularity is enhanced because it's retro?

As far as the current set, it's much better than the previous sets that the Brew Crew have sported. The color scheme says brewing. The dark brown, cream scheme that has been mentioned before would work because, again, it would reference beer.

[Gothamite]

The color scheme says brewing.

Actually, BallWonk seems to disagree with you.

[Guest]

Why do we have to fuss about what the ball-in-glove could conceivably stand for when we know what it stands for, i.e. the Milwaukee Brewers as a respectable baseball club? I don't care if it's explicitly related to Milwaukee or brewing. It inspires nostalgia and it moves units. Why can't that be enough?

As for the eternal struggle between giving the fans what they want versus knowing what's best for the design-deficient masses, I think you have to treat it case by case. San Diego has never really looked or been truly exceptional, so I don't think there's a serious devotion to the brown and yellow Padres that needs to be addressed. Milwaukee identifies with the previous identity for the Brewers, and have spoken with their wallets that they want that symbol of the glory years back. I say let them have it.

[KDubK414]

Hey Thanks TCR!!!

That's kinda what I was leaning towards in my previous post. I don't mind the identity as it is now, at least they say to some extension Milwaukee and Beer. But for me and many a folk here(in Brew City), the Brew Crew is and will always be remembered in those hats, those uniforms, and those players. Seeing the next gen in those on the field during the summer reminds us of past glory and gets us excited of the prospect of the here/now and the future. When ya got the New Kids: Rickie, Prince, and J.J. beckoning back to Gumby, The Ignitor, and The Kid. It warms my heart, and makes me think....Maybe we got something good brewing?!!?

As far as this topic goes with the new on field gear for sale, hearing how comfortable the fleeces are, I think I will buy one to add to my "retro" collection!

[FiddySicks]

The Brewers have a problem that all teams wish they had. They have too many good uniform sets to choose from. Either way its win win for them. After all, isnt that what you strive for (At least from a designers perspective)?

[Epiphanic]

The color scheme says brewing.

Actually, BallWonk seems to disagree with you.

I checked in some previous posts, and I stand corrected. If I may amend my previous statement and say that the current color scheme says brewing moreso than previous schemes.

[Gothamite]

Why is that, if I may ask?

American lager is very bright in color, I think it's much closer to athletic gold than metallic gold. So why should the contemporary color scheme say "brewing" to you?

[Epiphanic]

To me the ball-in-glove scheme is blue/yellow. Not gold. While you are correct that American beers are typically lighter in color, that shade of yellow doesn't say "beer" to me. If you colored the glove green it'd be the same scheme as the Green Bay Packers, which definitely doesn't say "beer."

The barrel-man's yellow is much closer to the color of beer and thus is a better representation of brewing.

The current set is darker but it is closer to gold than the ball-in-glove. Wheat is a lighter than the current gold but I think of the three it says "beer." Much more so than the ball-in-glove, while it's a toss up with the barrel man on pure color.

I'm sure my reasoning is biased by my dislike for the ball-in-glove logo in itself. When I first saw it I didn't even see the "M" and "B," just a glove. What does a baseball glove have to do with brewing or beer?

The current set has that brewing representation and the colors are "beer-y." That's my opinion.

In case you were wondering, I'm a dark beer man, so that might have some sort of influence too.

[harva4]

I think athletic gold is closer to beer (especially American lager) than metallic gold, so the old color scheme says "beer" more to me.

Agreed, just so long as we're not confusing MGD with beer.

Actually it is beer. And so is Miller Lite, High Life, Red Dog, and Ice House. Being an American macro brew doesn't make it an less of a beer than say...Red Hook. But then again, I keep an open mind to all beers in the rainbow.

[Guest]

I don't get why the Brewers need to look like beer. Why can't they just look like a ball team? They did a fine job of that in the past.

[leedsunited]

As Ball Wonk as stated, the ball-in-glove logo is tremendously generic and says essentially nothing about Milwaukee or Brewing. The only thing it has going for it is that it is tied to the "glory years" of Milwaukee baseball.

Don't you mean "glory YEAR"?

[DG_ThenNowForever]

It's a lot closer to beer than Bud, I'll give it that. Rice?!

But they're still sex in a canoe, as my English wife likes to say.

I like your wife's style.

And, funnily enough, I like beer regardless of whether or not a team full of 6'3" roided-up ballplayers looks like it'll tap a keg for me after the game.

[Gothamite]

Well, while you're right that the club only won one pennant, it was competitive for several years.

Well run, too - won organizational award after organizational award, had a solid farm system and excellent prospects right up until September 10, 1992. Then the club went into a slow decline that has only been reversed by its sale.

To me the ball-in-glove scheme is blue/yellow.

There's a substantial difference between yellow and gold.

The barrel-man's yellow is much closer to the color of beer and thus is a better representation of brewing.

Um, the Beer Barrel Man uses the same color scheme as the ball-and-glove. Royal and gold. Might not look it on Chris' graphics, but they did. The BBM-era used a slightly darker shade of blue, closer to Dodger blue than Met blue, but by all indications the gold stayed the same (or should have, in the days before color matching).

But I'll grant that the BBM is a great representation of the art of brewing, and as such should be the club's primary logo. Heck, just put him on the Sunday alternate! If Mr. "Skipping to First" Red can get some sleeve, why can't Owgust?

[Epiphanic]

I realize there is a difference between yellow and gold. I was going by the logos hosted on Chris's site. Since they were different, I assumed they were different. The glove still looks yellow to me.

If the Brewers brought back the barrel man in some fashion (as you stated, Gothamite, on a patch), I'd be cool with that. Even if the Barrel Man and the Glove are supposed to be the same colors, I still like the current scheme more.

[BallWonk]

Actually it is beer. And so is Miller Lite, High Life, Red Dog, and Ice House. Being an American macro brew doesn't make it an less of a beer than say...Red Hook. But then again, I keep an open mind to all beers in the rainbow.

I don't dismiss MGD because it's a macro. I dismiss it because it tastes bad. Or rather, hardly tastes at all. I mean, who in their right mind takes a sip of Heineken and says to themselves, "What this needs is less flavor"? The people behind MGD, apparently. With such a wide variety of really good, flavorful beer available pretty much everywhere in North America these days, there's no excuse ever to drink a second bottle of any beer you don't absolutely love. Plus, MGD and Miller Lite taste like high school.

As to why would the current Brewers uniforms say "brewing" or "beer" to me more than what they were wearing in 1982, it's simple. First off, the script, obviously, looks more like a beer label than anything they've previously worn. American lager, the good stuff, is descended most directly from Bohemian Pilsners, and if you go to Bohemia and look at the labels on the Pilsners you see a lot of terrific old-world lettering and scripts.

Regarding colors, except for Hamm's, which comes from Minnesota, not Wisconsin, you just don't see that much light blue on beer labels. You see darker colors and better contrast than between royal and yellow, and you see a fair amount of gold or dark yellow. The true navy just looks more like something you'd see on a beer bottle than royal blue. Navy and gold isn't the most brewing-ish combo out there, but it's more on point than royal and yellow, and anyway it's a Good Thing for at least one team to have a blue-and-yellow scheme of some sort, it being my favorite color combo and all.

But three cheers for the return, or better yet the subtle updating, of the Beer-Barrel Man.

[Gothamite]

But three cheers for the return, or better yet the subtle updating, of the Beer-Barrel Man.

This was my re-working of the logo from a couple years ago:

I changed the colors (more of a copper than metallic gold, I pulled the navy from their modern logo). I also tweaked the shape of the bat and the shape of his head just a little bit, to emphasize the tap.

I'd love to see this guy on the sleeves. I would also love the color scheme - rich copper over metallic gold.

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing a whole team of Beer Barrel Men, as they had in the 1940s: