Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Beer In Ads #59: Whitbread’s Here’s Health

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Friday’s ad is for Whitbread beer, since that’s who I was writing about for this month’s Session post today. This one is from 1930 and fittingly features a boat on the water. “Ashore or Afloat WHITBREAD’S PALE ALE is the best Summer beverage.” The art has the same idealized look as the series that U.S. Brewers Foundation started in the late 1940s, Beer Belongs.

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And here’s another from what looks to be the same series, though this one features a lunch setting.

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You can also see a larger, though watermarked, lunch ad and there’s also a third one from the series, this one in a canoe. Lastly, here’s a clearer, but again watermarked, version of the boat ad.

Beer In Ads #58: Ruppert People Have A Thirst For Living

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Thursday’s ad is for Ruppert Beer, because today is the birthday of Jacob Ruppert, Sr., father of his more famous son Junior or Jake, who founded the famous New York brewery in 1867. Ruppert’s most famous brand was Knickerbocker, a Dutch name that eventually became a term for New Yorker (and where the basketball “Knicks” got their name). Based on the colorful outfits in the ad, I’m guessing early Sixties. The slogan “Ruppert People Have A Thirst For Living” is pretty awesomely funny, but I really love the copy below it, more of that sparkling text of the era.

Ruppert people are folksier, friendlier, joksier, livelier. Their beer is Ruppert Knickerbocker, the beer with the flavor as lively as they are. Ruppert flavor took a hundred years and four generations of Rupperts to create. You can taste the difference. Blindfolded.

Sounds like a challenge. Blindfold me. I certainly want to hang out with people who are “folksier, friendlier, joksier, livelier,” especially that guy with the pipe. I bet he tells a mean joke.

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Beer In Ads #57: Reading Beer’s Reach For Reading Draft

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Since today’s my birthday, Wednesday’s ad is from my hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania, where the locak beer growing up was Reading Premium Beer. And let me clear up one thing right away — it’s pronounced “red-ing,” not “reed-ing.” We’re the first railroad in Monopoly. The Reading Brewery closed in 1976, but Schmidt’s continued to contract brew it for the local market, at least until 1987, when G. Heileman bought it. Eventually it became part of the Pabst stable of forgotten brands. Recently Legacy Brewing, also in Reading, Pennsylvania, resurrected the brand, but the website is down so I’m not sure what happened, though that’s not exactly a promising sign. It vwas actually harder to find an ad for them then I expected, but I tracked this one down from the Reading Eagle (one of two local papers, until they later merged with rival Reading Times). This ad ran in the August 18, 1964 newspaper.

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The ad uses one of favorite ad slogans of all-time, “The Friendly Beer For Modern People.” You just don’t see ad copy like that anymore, which is a shame. Slogans and copy today usually seem so calculated, so shaded with meaning, so safe and scientific. This just sparkles. Here’s the whole text of the ad:

The Friendly Beer for Modern People creates a magic mood of merriment. There’s loads of fun and friendship in brisk, frisky Reading Draft. So next time you’re out on the town, ask your favorite bartender to Reach for Reading Draft … a rollicking, frolicking brew!

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And while you can’t see it on the black and white tap handle in the ad, the Reading Beer logo is also very cool, with golden concentric circles around a blue dot in the center, also containing the brand name, as shown in the old beer tray below.

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Beer In Ads #56: Dr. Seuss For Narragansatt

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Here’s some bonus Beer In Ads for today, because Dr. Seuss — whose birthday is today — also created ads for the Narragansatt Brewery in Rhode Island during the 1940s. The brewery opened in 1890, but closed in 1981, and then the brand reappeared again in 2005.

Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, early in his career did advertising work for various companies, such as Schaefer beer and Narragansatt. I have yet one more fun Dr. Seuss and beer post planned for today, so stay tuned.

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A “Gangway For Gansett!” beer tray for Narragansatt beer done by Dr. Suess.

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A coaster with Chief Gansatt and the tagline “Too Good To Miss.”

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Narragansatt also apparently made a Bock, as well. This Dr. Seuss poster was done around 1942.

The new Narrgansatt also has some additional print ads that Dr. Seuss did for them. Though they’re small and fuzzy, they’re unmistakably his work. There’s two ads here and one more here. The book The Seuss, The Whole Seuss, and Nothing But the Seuss also includes some information about Geisel’s role in the Narragansatt beer campaigns beginning at page 226 (and there’s also more examples).

But one of the most fascinating revelations from the Narragansatt Beer website is the following:

We found was both his father, Theodor Robert Geisel, and grandfather Geisel were brewers. In fact his German immigrant grandfather owned the Kalmbach and Geisel Brewery, or “Come Back and Guzzle” by the locals, in Springfield. In 1894 it was renamed the Highland Brewery and five years later it became part of the Springfield Breweries. But in 1919 on the day Theodor Robert became president, prohibition forced the brewery to close forever. His father got a job as the city’s Parks Superintendent, but Theodor Seuss must have never forgotten how prohibition forced his family business to close. While attending Dartmouth College during prohibition he was arrested for throwing a drinking party and kicked off the Jack-O-Lantern, Dartmouth’s humor magazine. He continued to secretly submit works signed “Seuss.” This is the first record of Theodor Geisel using the “Suess” pseudonym which is both his middle and mother’s maiden name. During WWII he created anti-prohibition political cartoons and developed the Chief Gansett ads [for Narragansatt].

Beer In Ads #55: Dr. Seuss For Schaefer

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Tuesday’s ad is for Schaefer beer promoting their bock beer in the early 1940s. It was done by none other than Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. Today is the birthday of Dr. Seuss, who early in his career did advertising work for various companies. I have some more fun Dr. Seuss and beer posts planned for today, so stay tuned.

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Classic Dr. Seuss for Schaefer’s Bock beer, from March 1937.

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Here’s another Dr. Seuss bock advert for Schaefer Bock.

Beer In Ads #54: Budman

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Monday’s ad is for Budman, who made his debut this day in 1969 as a cartoon spokesman for Budweiser. Today’s ad also ran circa 1969 and so it most likely is one of the first Budman ads and certainly the tagline “Dauntless Defender of Quality” is the one I’m most familiar with. I imagine A-B couldn’t even have a cartoon character today since the neo-prohibitionists cry fowl every time a beer label uses any sort of cartoon imagery, curiously believing cartoons appeal only to children.

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Beer In Art #67: Peter Cross’ Beer Drawings

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Today work of art is, at least to me, a great example of how varying interests can come together and lead to one thing, in this case the art of Peter Cross, a British illustrator of album covers and children’s books, among others. I first became aware of Peter Cross in the late 1970s. I was a huge fan of the music of early Genesis (up until around Duke) and was enough of a music geek that I also picked up solo works by members of the band. Anthony Phillips was a founding member of Genesis and its original guitarist (along with Mike Rutherford) though the most famous Genesis is alum is undoubtedly Pete Gabriel. Anthony Phillips left after the second album due to crippling stage fright, though he also wrote fan fave Musical Box which appears on Nursery Cryme, the band’s third album. After leaving Genesis in 1970, Phillips studied classical guitar and appeared on other people’s recordings from time to time before releasing his first solo album, The Geese and the Ghost, in 1977. The album cover featured beautiful art by Peter Cross. I was, and remain, a huge fan of art that’s very, very detailed, the sort of art you can look at for days and continue to find new things. So I was almost as excited by the cover art as the music when Phillips second solo effort appeared in 1978. Wise After the Event also featured another Peter Cross cover. A couple of years later I was working as a record buyer for the now-defunct chain Record Bar. A friend who worked at Jem Imports in New Jersey — and who knew I loved Peter Cross and Anthony Phillips — gave me a print of Wise After the Event signed by both Cross and Phillips, and it still hangs in our hallway.

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A few years later, a children’s book was published called Trouble For Trumpets and Cross did all the illustrations for it, apparently taking seven years to compete the 30-page book.

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It’s a fabulous book, a story about war, but it’s the art that really makes it for me. There was also a sequel a few years called Trumpets in Grumpetland and it’s equally wonderful. Unfortunately, both are out of print and quite expensive if you can even find one used.

But that brings us back around to beer. I was recently searching for new art to feature in this weekly series of Beer In Art, when I discovered that Peter Cross is still working and is represented online by Chris Beetles Art Gallery. Better still, he’s done several works recently involving beer. So I’m thrilled to be able to share one of my absolute favorite illustrators, Peter Cross.

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Beer Garden is a watercolor originally done for a greeting card.

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Beerkats, a watercolor spoof of Meerkats also for a greeting card.

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And lastly, Beerstalker, a pen and ink drawing.

In addition to Peter Cross’ Wikipedia page, there’s also a short biography and an interview on Anthony Phillips’ website. And can see more of his artwork at Chris Beetles Art Gallery

Guinness Ads #7: Whale Walking

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The seventh Guinness poster by John Gilroy is set at the beach showing another of the “Guinness For Strength” series. It shows a diver coming out of the auction holding up a whale with one finger and instead of oxygen, has a bottle of Guinness strapped to his back.

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Virtually the same ad has also appeared in a vertical aspect ratio.

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Beer In Ads #53: Schlitz Real Olympic Gusto

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Friday’s ad is for Schlitz, and seemed appropriate since we’re in the waning days of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. This Schlitz ad was part of their “Real Gusto” campaign and ran during the 1964 Summer Olympic games in Tokyo, Japan. The ad features sportscaster Tom Harmon, father of actor Mark Harmon, who anchored the Tokyo games coverage on NBC.

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