Two years ago 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. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Saturday’s first ad is for Heublein’s Bock Beer, which was published on April 4, 1878. This ad was for the Heublien Company of Hartford, Connecticut, which was originally founded by Andrew Heublien in 1862 as a restaurant. They were one of the first companies to sell RTDs (Ready-to-Drink cocktails) in 1875 and soon after, in 1906, acquired the rights to sell, and later manufacture, A-1 Steak Sauce. WHile I couldn’t find anything specific about them brewing beer in the 19th century, they must have had someone brew it for them. This ad ran in the Hartford Courant, also of Hartford, Connecticut.