Wednesday’s ad is from Pabst, from 1901. 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, which uses possibly the weirdest words to say you had a bad day, they start with “After the day’s business foretells nervous prostration.” Luckily, there is a cure. You probably already know what it is: Pabst Malt Extract.
