Wednesday’s ad is for O’Keefe’s and was done around 1900, years before Miller put on a woman in the moon. O’Keefe’s was a Canadian brewery that in 1916 was purchased by Carling, and later merged with Canadian Breweries in 1930. In 1969, it became Carling O’Keefe again but merged with Molson in 1989. The ad is typical of the turn of the century, when ads were often low-key with grand illustrations showing idealized beauty. “Pilsener Lager” I understand, but “Special Extra Mild Ale” is a bit of a head-scratcher. Extra Mild makes about as much sense as Imperial Mild, and now we’ve seen both.
There’s nothing at all strange about Special Extra Mild Ale. Breweries used to make more than one Mild Ale so often called one something like Special Mild, Best Mild, etc.
Mild has only been a low-gravity beer since 1917.
Great post, really love your blog and all the vintage ads you post.
Slainte,
Daron
While vacationing in Ontario 50 years ago, at the Sands Inn,; experienced O’keefe’s ale. where can I find this great product in Atlanta? thank you in advance.