Last year I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. 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.

Tuesday’s ad is for Ortlieb Bock Beer, which was published on November 25, 1968. This ad was for the Henry Ortlieb Brewing Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which was originally founded in 1859 by Louis Schweitzer, but an Ortlieb was in involved in the brewery by at least 1879. It became known as the Henry Ortlieb Brewery in 1893 and continued under that name until 1981. This ad ran in The Morning Call, from Allentown, Pennsylvania. It’s an early example of ad masquerading as news under the titled “The Beer Drinker’s Corner,” and purportedly written by “Joe Ortlieb, Brewmaster.”