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.

Wednesday’s ad is for Minnesota City Bock Beer, which was published around 1900. This poster was created for the Minnesota City Brewery of Minnesota City, Minnesota, which was founded in 1863, and was also known as the Otto Vill Brewery. The poster was created by the Donaldson Lithographing Company, which was a prominent American lithography firm founded on August 10, 1863, in Cincinnati, Ohio, by William M. Donaldson and Henry Elms.