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.

Friday’s poster is for Bock Des Houillères. It was created around the 1920s, and was most likely made for Brasserie des Houillères, which was located in Allouagne in northern France, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais mining basin, or possibly for a regional coal-mining-linked or cooperative brewery known as houillères. The poster was printed by Publicité Savoye-Godin in Lille, France.