Tuesday’s ad is for Anheuser-Busch’s “Malt-Nutrine,” from 1908. Malt-Nutrine was promoted not as a non-alcoholic beer, but as a “pure malt tonic” and sold by druggists and grocers. “The Bloom of Health” that the ad refers to apparently only “blossoms” if you have enough “life-giving blood.” Luckily, Malt-Nutrine is “a blood and strength maker.” Here’s the best bit: “Every drop of it is alive with the health-bringing juices of barley and the vigorous tonic powers of imported Saazer Hops.” You’ll feel good enough to play golf or plow a field.
