Monday’s ad is for a bock beer in honor of the Dutch holiday, Bokbierdag. I don’t know when, but at one point Miller Brewing made a bock. The ad features the iconic Miller witch riding a white goat.
And here’s a label for the beer, though I’d guess it’s older than the ad.
“Miller witch”? Uh, ain’t that the boss’ daughter, or at least has been long rumored to be based on Frederick’s kid? Altho’, commonly just referred to as the Miller “Girl in/on the Moon” icon.
Yeah, you’re right of course. For some reason, I always think of the gal as a witch because who else wears that kind of hat? If it helps, I also think of her as a “good” witch. Besides, I don’t think Daddy’s still around to give me a hard time.
Yeah, well, would a “good witch” have allowed her father’s namesake brewery to sink as low as it has (Lite Beer – Philip Morris – SAB – corn syrup – light proof hop extract)?
Altho’, isn’t the story that another Miller descendant eventually sold the brewery to W. R. Grace because she was anti-alcohol? Now that’s a sadder tale than having a witch in the family…
Oh yeah, couldn’t find it earlier (filed under “Miller” not “Bock”) but Miller used that graphic of the “Girl in the Moon on a Goat” in 1935 (probably the first batch of Miller Bock, post-Repeal), tho’ obviously it might date from the pre-Pro era. (Reproduced on the page I linked to under “Website”). Brewed in October ’34 and aged for 5 months.
I know Miller made a Bock, Malt Liquor and Ale in the ’70’s. Used to live in Chicago and collected beer cans at the time. The Bock and Ale were sold in the Milwaukee area. The Malt Liquor was sold nationally to counter A-B’s Budweiser product.
Miller Ale, at least, was sold beyond Milwaukee- it was marketed in NJ (Ballantine’s former backyard) for one. In fact, I was once served a very old bottle of it (circa 1977) when I stopped into a questionable bar, there only, and ironically, because there was a Ballantine XXX Ale neon in the window. I think I have a full can of Miller Ale around here somewhere (can’t recall where I picked that up, tho’).
I wonder if the Miller Bock was the same brew as the “Miller Dark” that I encountered so often on draft in restaurants in the midwest during the early 70’s? Shakey’s, Pizza Hut, and other similar “fake pizza” joints all seemed to offer it alongside taps of High Life. The Pizza Hut I begrudgingly patronized in Storm Lake IA in 1970/71 had it, and it was the restaurant’s saving grace as far as I was concerned.
I was told at the time by the manager that they actually sold quite a bit of the “dark”…in fact, almost as much as the High Life.