What’s the Story with the Bunny in the Fox’s Belly at Brassneck Brewery?

Branding Vancouver is a new column in which we look at some of the more interesting logos and icons that appear in Vancouver’s food and beverage scene. Some of the explanations will be long and others short, but the goal of deeper understanding will be constant. If you want the backstory of a particularly compelling local brand revealed, let us know via @scoutmagazine and we’ll try to figure it out.

The Brand: Brassneck Brewing’s “Passive Aggressive” Dry Hopped Pale Ale. It was the first beer ever brewed by Brassneck, in September 2013.

“A bright [7%] Pale Ale with a strong hop backbone. The ever so slightly sweet malt character plays second fiddle to the punchy hops. Somewhere between a pale & an IPA, Passive Aggressive has become our flagship.”

In the four years since it has become one of Vancouver’s most iconic beers, while the drawing associated with it – one of a rabbit inside the belly of a fox – has emerged as something of an icon of the city’s craft beer renaissance.

Illustration by: Local artist Maggie Boyd.

The Story: According to Nigel Springthorpe, owner of the Alibi Room and Brassneck Brewery:

“I was already familiar with Maggie Boyd’s drawing and illustration style from working with her at the Alibi – she was always leaving crazy doodle notes for staff and she had drawn some of our Century Beer List Covers. Somehow we figured this drawing of the fox with the rabbit in its tummy had some roundabout kinda metaphoric connection to the words ‘Passive Aggressive’.”