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Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Beer In Ads #1792: Bock Man & Goat Boy

January 16, 2016 By Jay Brooks


Saturday’s ad is for Bock Beer, from the late 1800s or early 20th century. I’m not quite sure about this one. It’s either an unsuspecting man in the beer cellar, mug of beer in hand with his lunch of bread and … what are those, turnips or rutabagas? He sits there slumped over, shoulders drooping with resignation. Does he know that there’s a mad goat behind him about to pounce or is completely unaware of his fate? Alternatively, it’s the world’s weirdest crime-fighting duo: Bock Man and Goat Boy!

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History

Beer In Ads #1791: G.F. Burkhardt’s Bock Beer

January 15, 2016 By Jay Brooks


Friday’s ad is for G.F. Burkhardt’s Bock Beer, from 1877. The G.F. Burkhardt Brewery, of Boston, Massachusetts, was originally founded in 1850 but was effectively closed by prohibition in 1918, never to return after its repeal. The ad shows quite the raucous party in the cellar of the brewery, complete with the requisite goat.

G._F._Burkhardts_bock_beer-1877

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History

Beer In Ads #1790: Goat Dancing

January 14, 2016 By Jay Brooks


Thursday’s ad is for Bock Beer, again from either the late 1800s or early 20th century. In this one, a statue to the lofty goat has quite literally been put in a pedestal, and four couples are dancing around it. The men are all wearing aprons (I’m going to guess those are bartender’s aprons from that time period) so maybe it’s some bock ritual dance I’m not familiar with. Who knows?

bock-beer-statue

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History

Beer In Ads #1789: Flying Goats

January 13, 2016 By Jay Brooks


Wednesday’s ad is for Bock Beer, from either the late 1800s or early 20th century. It was produced by the Donaldson Litho. Co. of Newport, Kentucky as a sample of their printing work, complete with pricing information at the top. This is one of several bock-themed samples they produced, and in this one not only can goats fly, they can fly airplanes.

bock-beer-hangers-plane

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History

Beer In Ads #1788: Anti-Prohibition Goats

January 12, 2016 By Jay Brooks


Tuesday’s ad is for Bock Beer, from before Prohibition. In this one, a group of goats are having a beer-furled outdoor carnival of sorts, with casks of bock, a goat band playing from a stage and front and center the personification of prohibition has been strung up from a tree and is being head-butted around in what appears to be some kind of game. There’s another goat in the foreground chewing on the daily newspaper, no doubt because it’s bringing news about prohibition. There’s a sign on the fence on the left that you can barely read. But what you can see is this: “Mr. Bock, Sherrif Barley County.” It signed by a judge and in the middle, written larger, it says “Yahoo Prohibition.”

bock-prohibition

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History

Beer In Ads #1787: ABC Bock

January 11, 2016 By Jay Brooks


Monday’s ad is for American Brewing Co.’s Bock Beer, from 1890. The St. Louis brewery has a goat that’s as proud as a peacock, balancing on a beer barrel, with a glass of bock in one paw. He’s also licking his lips and has quite the pair hanging low. Plus, I really love the bines of hops wrapped around his head. That’s one handsome goat!

ABC-Bock-1890

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History

Beer In Ads #1786: Roman Goddess Riding A Goat

January 10, 2016 By Jay Brooks


Sunday’s ad is for Bock Beer, again probably from around 1890s or thereabouts. In this one, a woman dressed as a Roman goddess is riding a goat through a field of barley and hops. She’s holding on to the handlebars with just one hand so she doesn’t spill the beer held in her other. So far so good, though I’d give her better odds if she wasn’t riding sidesaddle. But I guess at the time that wouldn’t be considered ladylike, or even goddesslike.

bock-roman-goddess-Ohio

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History

Beer In Ads #1785: Try Our Bock Beer

January 9, 2016 By Jay Brooks


Saturday’s ad is for Frank Fehr Brewing Co.’s Bock Beer, probably from the 1890s. The brewery was located in Louisville, Kentucky, but started out as the Otto Brewery. Its name changed to Frank Fehr in 1890, and remained that name until it closed in 1964. It’s a twofer, with not one, but two, goats standing over a barrel of their bock, with “Try Our” on the head and “Bock Beer” just below.

Frank-Frehr-bock

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History, Kentucky

Beer In Ads #1784: Bock Beer Couple

January 8, 2016 By Jay Brooks


Friday’s ad is for Bock Beer, another one form probably the late 1800s, but nothing more specific about who it’s for or exactly where and when. Featuring a festive couple, it almost seems like she’s asking for his beer, while he’s holding it just out of reach, smiling, as she continues to try to talk him out of it. There must be something going on, because look at the goat’s startled eyes, and notice he’s looking away? There’s definitely more than meets the eye in this scene.

bock-couple

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History

Beer In Ads #1783: Feldschlösschen Bock

January 7, 2016 By Jay Brooks


Thursday’s ad is for Feldschlösschen Bock, from around 1910. It was produced by A. Trüb & Cie, a Swiss printer though I’m not certain if the brewery is likewise from Switzerland. There is a Feldschlösschen in Dresden, Germany which apparently been brewing there since 1858. I only remember Radebgerger being (near) there when I visited Dresden a little over ten years ago. Another source claims it’s for the “Feldschlösschen Bock brewery in Aarau, Switzerland,” but it seems unlikely there would have been two breweries so close to one another with the same name. It’s more stylized the older bock ads, but is still pretty cool.

Feldschlösschen-Bock-brewery-A.TRÜB-Cie-1910

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History

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