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.

Friday’s ad is for Löwenbräu Bock, which is from the 1920s and was created for the Löwenbräu Brewery of Munich, Germany, which was originally founded in 1383. The artist who created the poster was Otto Obermeier (1883-1958), who was born in Germany. I’m not sure when it was completed, though my best guess is the 1920s or 30s. The poster is described like this on one auction site: “A giant anthropomorphic goat playing a pan flute ferries a German family on its back, the father holding a frothy glass of bock beer, in front of a full moon.”