Friend of Tröegs Devin Watson, a Baltimore-based designer, pulls back the curtain on his Candyland-inspired illustration for LolliHop.

How did you connect with Tröegs?

DW: I have a friend who worked for Tröegs, and through her I joined the brewery team that does the Kinetic Sculpture Race in Baltimore every spring. That led to my first entry in the annual Art of Tröegs Contest, a psychedelic interpretation of the Troegenator Racer that we pedal around the city. I was a runner-up that year, and after that, Tröegs chose me to design the label for LolliHop.

How would you describe your artistic style?

DW: I call myself a design parrot. I can take a lot of styles and be fluid with them, make them my own. I’ve designed a lot of book covers … Westerns, adventure fiction, cookbooks, academic publications, you name it. I love the challenge of taking a subject – even a dry one – and turning it into something interesting and unexpected.

Where did the idea for your LolliHop design come from?

DW: I wanted to tell a story, and LolliHop had all the elements: a quest to find a great hop combination, three different hop varieties, and this kind of candy theme. The design grew organically from there. I imagined this magical forest where the hops were as big as redwoods. There are three trees pictured representing the three types of hops used to create LolliHop. This glowing elixir oozes out of the trees like syrup flowing into the rocks and streams and eventually coming to rest in a huge glowing pool at the bottom. Basically it’s like a huge scene from Candyland if Candyland had a beer forest.

How would you like to see your artwork on a can of Tröegs beer? Get in on this year’s Art of Tröegs Contest, and that just might come true. All you have to do is create a piece inspired by Tröegs. It can be flat. It can be 3-dimensional. It can be a sculpture or a song. It can be anything you dream up, as long as it has a Tröegs twist. The deadline is April 26, and we’re happy to accept digital submissions. Check out the details at troegs.com/art.