the paper (or other material) artwork attached to a bottle to provide the name of the beer and other information.

While bottling in some form or another seems to have been around for millennia, the attachment of a label to a glass bottle is a relatively new practice, gaining general usage during the mid-19th century. Up to this point, glassware was manufactured to feature embossed lettering or artwork that depicted the name of the brewery or other details. Guinness was among the earliest companies to switch to paper labels, with examples of its work dating from the 1840s.

Today, labels may also be screen-printed or composed of printed film and are attached to various parts of the bottle, most commonly the front, but also the back (where much of the information is conveyed) and the shoulder or neck. As the trend toward giving beers more colourful names has developed, so has the extravagance of the artwork. Where once simple, factual designs were employed, now striking illustrations—be they in photographic, sketched, or even cartoon format—are the norm.

American beer label advertising traditional wood aging. Paper and ink were in short supply during World War II; the simple design of this label, from around 1940, is typical of the period. pike microbrewery museum, seattle, wa

The degree of information provided has also increased as consumers seek greater detail about the product. Consequently, alongside often mandatory (dependent on territory) facts and figures such as net content, strength, best-before dates, and medical advice or cautions, many brewers now provide many more details in an effort to inspire and educate the customer. The collecting of labels (“labology”) is a widespread hobby.

See also labeling information.