Jay R. Brooks on Beer
Tuesday’s ad is for “Hamm’s,” from 1959. This ad was made for Hamm’s Brewing, which was founded in 1865 by Theodore Hamm in St. Paul, Minnesota. At its peak, it was the 5th largest brewery in America, and operated facilities in five cities, including San Francisco, L.A., Baltimore and Houston, in addition to the original brewery in Minnesota. This one features five bottles of beer that spell out Hamm’s, with the tagline “A sp3ecial kind of refreshment … from the land of sky blue waters!”
RToday is the 50th birthday — The Big 5-O — of Chris Spradley. Chris has worn a variety of hats in the brewing community, starting with Craft Beer Consultants, which is began in 2011, and working as sales rep. for Rahr & Sons Brewing shortly thereafter. He was also a host of “What’s On Tap Radio” and later created “Destination Beer,” a beer and food show. But more recently, he started his own food truck, “Crawfish Chris,” in his native Houston, serving true to style Cajun crawfish with all the sides (including mushrooms and garlic, plus Viet style with butter and garlic sauce). I’ve run in to Chris from time to time at various beer events and he’s a passionate ambassador for great beer and food. Join me in wishing Chris a very happy birthday.