Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Anchor Christmas Ale 1981

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xmas-christmas-ale
It’s day seven of my seasonal scamper to Christmas featuring all 42 labels from Anchor’s Christmas Ale — a.k.a. Our Special Ale — all different beers (well, mostly different) and all different labels, each one designed by local artist Jim Stitt, up to and including this year’s label.

1981 was the seventh year that Anchor made their Christmas Ale, and it was similar to the six previous year’s beers, another variation based on Liberty Ale, still a hoppy pale ale, with no spices added. This sixth label was an “Olive Tree,” or “Olea europaea.”

Anchor-Xmas-1981

Anchor Christmas Ale 1980

By

xmas-christmas-ale
It’s day six of my seasonal sprint to Christmas featuring all 42 labels from Anchor’s Christmas Ale — a.k.a. Our Special Ale — all different beers (well, mostly different) and all different labels, each one designed by local artist Jim Stitt, up to and including this year’s label.

1980 was the sixth year that Anchor made their Christmas Ale, and it was similar to the five previous year’s beers, another variation based on Liberty Ale, still a hoppy pale ale, with no spices added. This sixth label was an “Oak Tree,” or “Genus: Quercus.”

Anchor-Xmas-1980

Anchor Christmas Ale 1979

By

xmas-christmas-ale
It’s day five of my jolly jog to Christmas featuring all 42 labels from Anchor’s Christmas Ale — a.k.a. Our Special Ale — all different beers (well, mostly different) and all different labels, each one designed by local artist Jim Stitt, up to and including this year’s label.

1979 was the fifth year that Anchor made their Christmas Ale, and it was similar to the four previous year’s beers, another variation based on Liberty Ale, with no spices added. This fifth label was “[i]nspired by the Original Christmas Ale Tree.”

Anchor-Xmas-1979

Beer In Ads #2097: This Calls For … The Neighbors

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Thursday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1962. In this ad, part of series entitled “This calls for …,” in this case “The Neighbors?” Four men, presumably all neighbors, are drinking beer in one of their kitchens, and, apparently “swapping ideas.” I can’t figure out why one of the men there is holding two bottles behind his back, almost hidden from the other three people. He’s also the only one without a glass of beer in his hand. Maybe he just arrived, and pulled them out of the refrigerator, and grabbed two so he could catch up?

1962-this-calls-for-Budweiser-the-neighbors

Anchor Christmas Ale 1978

By

xmas-christmas-ale
It’s day four of my marathon run to Christmas featuring all 42 labels from Anchor’s Christmas Ale — a.k.a. Our Special Ale — all different beers (well, mostly different) and all different labels, each one designed by local artist Jim Stitt, up to and including this year’s label.

1978 was the fourth year that Anchor made their Christmas Ale, and it was similar to the three previous year’s beers, a variation based on Liberty Ale, with no spices added. This fourth label was “[i]nspired by an evergreen in the Sierra Nevadas.”

Anchor-Xmas-1978

Beer In Ads #2096: This Calls For … Hungry?

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Wednesday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1962. In this ad, part of series entitled “This calls for …,” in this case a “Hungry?” A man sits in front of a fireplace, nose deep in a glass of beer, holding the can in the other hand. In front of him is a big slab of ribeye steak on an indoor Hibachi grill. I can’t quite work out if he’s cooking the steak, or eating it right off the grill. It does look like it’s on a table, and probably not in a kitchen, so maybe. Although that is a lot of steak for one man. Until, of course, you remember this was when men were still manly men.

Bud-1962-this-calls-for-hungry

Anchor Christmas Ale 1977

By

xmas-christmas-ale
It’s day three of my mad dash to Christmas featuring all 42 labels from Anchor’s Christmas Ale — a.k.a. Our Special Ale — all different beers (well, mostly different) and all different labels, each one designed by local artist Jim Stitt, up to and including this year’s label.

1977 was the third year that Anchor made their Christmas Ale, and it was similar to the two previous year’s beer, a variation based on Liberty Ale, with no spices added. This third label featured a “Douglas Fir,” or “Pseudotsuga menziesii.”

Anchor-Xmas-1977

Beer In Ads #2095: This Calls For … Home From Work

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Tuesday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1962. In this ad, part of series entitled “This calls for …,” in this case a “Home From Work….” “The day’s problems melt when there are ‘little things’ to talk about.” I assume the little things refer to their baby, since they’re both looking down, and you can see a highchair behind the woman wearing the apron. I love that he needed a beer first, though.

1962-budweiser-beer-ad-home-from-work