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.
Thursday’s second ad is for Ortlieb Bock Beer, which was published on February 19, 1959. This ad was for the Henry F. Ortlieb Brewing Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which was originally founded in 1859 by Louis Schweitzer. Henry Ortlieb appears to have acquired the brewery around 1893. This ad ran in The Philadelphia Inquirer, also of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There’s some great ad copy here, including “It’s the he-man brew — that the gals love too!” and it’s “The Wet beer.”
