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Beer In Ads #2358: The “Best” Tonic


Friday’s ad is from Pabst, from 1897. Many brewers made other related products besides beer, notably malt extract, to be used primarily in cooking as an ingredient in breads and desserts and even as a tonic. According to Briess, which still offers it today. “What is Malt Extract? Malt can be further processed to produce liquid or dried sweeteners called Malt Extracts.” They were essentially “the original starch- or grain-based sweetener.” Many brewers survived prohibition making malt extract, both for legal uses and for homebrewing, but Pabst was making and advertising decades before. In this ad, another one using the headline “A Pint of Food,” it also is comparing ancient Egypt and America’s beer. Take a close look at the two columns. On the left are scenes of brewing in Egypt, but on the right column you can see modern brewing depicted but in the style of ancient Egypt, which is actually pretty cool.

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