Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

  • Home
  • About
  • Editorial
  • Birthdays
  • Art & Beer

Socialize

  • Dribbble
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Powered by Genesis

You are here: Home / Art & Beer / Beer In Ads #5065: The Origin Of Famous Bock Beer….

Beer In Ads #5065: The Origin Of Famous Bock Beer….

August 28, 2025 By Jay Brooks

Last year I decided to concentrate on Bock ads. Bock, of course, may have 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.

Thursday’s ad is for Graupner Bock Beer, which was published on August 28, 1933. This one was for the Robert H. Graupner Brewery of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which was originally founded in 1875 as Koenig & Bro. and was also often called the Centennial Brewery, though Graupner was usually in the name after 1893. They also mention two of the other beers, Graupner’s X-Tra Fine Beer and Silver Stock Lager. But what’s most curious about the ad is that most of it is taken up by the telling of one of the many origin stories of bock beer. This ad ran in The Harrisburg Telegraph, also of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, History, Pennsylvania



Find Something

Northern California Breweries

Please consider purchasing my latest book, California Breweries North, available from Amazon, or ask for it at your local bookstore.

Recent Comments

  • Jay Brooks on Beer Birthday: Bill Owens
  • Steve 'Pudgy' De Rose on Beer Birthday: Charles Finkel
  • Steve 'Pudgy' De Rose on Beer Birthday: Bill Owens
  • Steve "Pudgy" De Rose on Beer Birthday: Pete Slosberg
  • Paul Finch on Beer Birthday: Dann Paquette

Recent Posts

  • Historic Beer Birthday: Nicholas Bastendorff October 8, 2025
  • Beer Birthday: Garrett Marrero October 8, 2025
  • Beer In Ads #5098: Hull’s Brown October Ale October 7, 2025
  • Historic Beer Birthday: Paul Reising October 7, 2025
  • Historic Beer Birthday: William Treadwell Van Nostrand October 7, 2025

BBB Archives

Feedback

Head Quarter
This site is hosted and maintained by H25Q.dev. Any questions or comments for the webmaster can be directed here.
Go to mobile version