Sunday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1905. In the first decade of the 20th century, Schlitz Brewing, then one of the largest breweries in the U.S. after the industry had shrunk from over 4,000 to around 1,500 in just 25 or so years, did a series of primarily text ads, with various themes. In this ad, Schlitz is still beating the drum on “Purity,” redefining it for the their advertising purposes, trying in effect to own the word. It seems unlikely that most other breweries at the time, especially the ones of equivalent size or success, weren’t taking the same steps in both brewing and keeping the process sanitary, but Schlitz was relentlessly trying to say they were the only one concerned about their beer’s “purity.”
Much like Coors is the only brewery that lagers, filters, and packages their beer cold.