Monday’s ad is for Lion Brewing, a.k.a. “Wilkes-Barre’s Best.” It was established in 1905, and I don’t know if the ad is from that time period, but it certainly looks like it.
Beer In Ads #1069: Pilsner Urquell In The Atomic Age
Sunday’s ad is our third postcard for Pilsner Urquell, from what looks to be the 1950s based on the style of illustration on this postcard. This one shows a dapper man riding a red rocket into the air, holding a glass of pilsner in his hand. The air is filled with flying machines, which is what we were promised back then. I’m still waiting for my flying car that folds into a briefcase.
Beer In Ads #1068: Pilsner Urquell Delivers In Space
Saturday’s ad is another postcard for Pilsner Urquell, from what looks to be the 1950s based on the style of illustration on this postcard. SInce it shows a satellite taking Pilsner Urquell to a Moon family or aliens out for a joyride, it’s probably after Sputnik, which was 1957. I love this style of illustration and the idea that they’d been observing earth for some time, but only once we sent up a satellite they would “finally going to drink.” I mean, couldn’t they get take out? Did they have to wait until delivery service began?
Beer In Ads #1067: Old Heidelberg Inn
Friday’s ad is for Val. Blatz Brewing and it’s from an old postcard apparently showing a reproduction of a painting that was apparently in a place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, operated by the Blatz Brewery. Here’s what it said on the back of the card. “This card was mailed from Old Heidelberg Inn, which is maintained for the benefit of visitors to Milwaukee by the Val. Blatz Brewing Co. — brewers of the famous Old Heidelberg, Ester-aged.” I wonder what “Ester-aged” is?
Beer In Ads #1066: The Norman Conquest
Thursday’s ad is for Cottage Brewing’s Norman’s Conquest Extra Strong Ale. It’s not really an ad, but how many times will I have #1066 to play around with? Exactly. I had this beer at the first CAMRA festival I attended, at Peterborough, in the mid-1990s.
The artwork resembles the tapestries so popular when William the Conquerer, a Norman, invaded England and conquered the Britons at the Battle of Hastings, one of the decisive battles in the Norman Conquest.
Embroidered Beer
Here’s a fun little project by the Society of Beer Advocates (SOBA), a beer appreciation organization in New Zealand — their motto” “Beer for all the right reasons.” They provide resources for consumers, breweries, bars and restaurants, just about anybody along the distribution pipeline, and define their mission with the following:
- To promote awareness of beer in all its flavour and diversity
- To protect and improve consumer rights with regards to beer and associated service
- To promote quality, choice and value for money
- To campaign for greater appreciation of traditional crafted beer
- To seek improvements in all licensed premises and throughout the brewing industry
- To act as an independent resource for both the consumer, the pub trade, and the brewing industry
Toward that end in 2012 they created a SOBA poster campaign , where they created a quartet of posters aimed at “championing finely crafted, flavourful beers and encouraging responsible enjoyment of craft beer.” A local graphics firm, Base Two, designed the four posters to look embroidered on calico fabric and they all carried the message “Champions of finely crafted flavourful beers.” How cool is that?
Hops Sweet Hops
Stop Drinking. Start Tasting.
Take Time to Smell the Hops
Slow down … Taste the Beer
Beer In Ads #1065: Pilsner Urquell Keeps You On Earth
Wednesday’s ad is for Pilsner Urquell, from what looks to be the 1950s based on the style of illustration on this postcard. Showing a geeky-looking mathematician in front of a blackboard filled with a calculation. I wonder if it’s just gibberish or if it really does express something mathematically — gravity perhaps? But the idea is that if it weren’t for math we wouldn’t be here on planet beer to enjoy our Pilsner Urquell.
Beer In Ads #1064: Brewed With Water From When The Earth Was Pure
Tuesday’s ad is for Heilman’s Old Style, though it looks old it could easily be newer but designed to look that way. I love the ginormous beer can towering over the hills in the foreground, with even taller mountains in the distance. A beautiful picture, it’s too bad the beer wasn’t better.
Beer In Ads #1063: Hull’s Export Beer
Monday’s ad is for Hull’s Export Beer, from “Connecticut’s only brewery,” according to the ad. Hull Brewing was founded in 1852 by Ph. Fresenius, and was bought by the Hull family when Prohibition ended, but it later closed in 1977. At one point there were at least 22 breweries in New Haven, Connecticut, so this ad must be later, after all the rest had closed.
Beer In Ads #1062: Masterpiece Inspired By The Monks’ Cellar
Sunday’s ad is for Feigenspan P.O.N. Ale, from sometime before 1943, which was when the Christian Feigenspan Brewing Co. was bought by Ballantine. P.O.N. stands for “Pride of Newark,” which is the in New Jersey city where the brewery was founded in 1875. I especially like the ad copy toward the bottom. “Don’t say a word … say P.O.N.”
