This year I decided to concentrate on Bock ads. Bock, of course, originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising.

Sunday’s ad is for “Deppen Brewery Bock Beer,” of Reading, PA. Having grown up outside Reading, I was not familiar with the Deppen Brewery, but given that they closed in 1937 I guess that’s not too surprising.

The copyright owner of this image asked me to remove it, but if you still want to see it (and you should), here’s a link to where it’s displayed.