ORONOKO CHARTER TOWNSHIP — This month, Round Barn — a winery, distillery and brewery in Oronoko Charter Township — released two new beers: Lake Michigan Lite and Black Dog Porter.

Paige Wetmore, a longtime Buchanan resident who recently moved to Dowagiac, created the can designs for both.

Wetmore, a 2016 Southwestern Michigan College graduate, went into two graphic design jobs before finding Moersch Hospitality Group, the company that runs the Round Barn brand, around Halloween 2018.

“The job description was just kind of fun,” she said. “It seemed laid back. It seemed like the type of stuff that I would want to design.”

Now, Wetmore is the go-to designer for Round Barn and two other Moersch brands, Free Run Cellars in Berrien Township and Tabor Hill in Oronoko Charter Township.

She creates the designs of objects people might expect — like cans and apparel — but she also creates the things less expected — like event posters, maps and menus.

The new American blonde ale and porter are two of her latest completed projects.

To create them, Wetmore spoke with the head brewer to find out what his inspirations, flavors and goals were with the beers, which he named. Then, she got to work.

Lake Michigan Light’s can features a kayak floating in a body of water on a bright day.

“I would create a few concepts, so that’s how I kind of came up with the whole Michigan landscape and kayak,” she said. “I mean, it’s called Lake Michigan Ale, so you have to play off the lake a little bit.”

Black Dog Porter’s can features two black dogs outlined in neon red and white against a galaxy background. Its font is reminiscent of neon signs.

This one, Wetmore said, took longer to create, but she said she had great inspiration.

“The Black Dog Porter was a little bit more of a process, but that one was really exciting because the dogs that are featured on the can are actually the head brewer’s, so that was pretty cool,” she said. “Once I found out that’s what gave him the name, I wanted to make sure they were on there.”

Both beers were released in can form in July along with two other beers that have been staples of Round Barn but were never canned before: Kolsch Ale and Vacation Wheat Ale.

Other projects of Wetmore’s include the designs for an apparel line to be released this fall, a map of Moersch’s Sip & Savor Trail of wineries in Berrien County and the design elements for the hospitality group’s wine club.

She said designing so many different parts for Round Barn has been interesting.

“You want them to be unique to themselves, but not so unique it looks hodge podge when it’s lined next to everything else on the wall,” she said.

Wetmore said she has enjoyed her time at Round Barn.

“It’s really taught me to appreciate myself, I guess,” she said. “I know I undervalued my work a lot, but my coworkers have been really supportive. They realized that I could do stuff and handle myself really well.”