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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 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

Fullsteam’s Brewery Porn From Space

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Regular Bulletin readers already know I have an unnatural, some might say unhealthy, love of brewing equipment — a.k.a. brewery porn — so I was thrilled to see Fullsteam Brewery’s new brewhouse from space. I especially love the artists rendering of where his brewhouse might have ended up had it not been for the hand of fate stepping in and cutting NASA’s budget.

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Recently, the reworked-for-full-gravity brewhouse was “docked” at the Fullsteam space in Durham, North Carolina.

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To see more of it, check out the original post or the Flickr gallery.

One More SF Beer Week Video

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Here’s one more video from SF Beer Week, this one by The Brewing Network shot at the Celebrator 22nd annual Anniversary Party at Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley that closed SF Beer Week. Justin Crossley and his crew from the Brewing Network set up a video camera and interviewed several of the participants in SF Beer Week, including yours truly. Thanks, Justin. You can also see his photographs from the event at his blog post.

Celebrator 2010 SFBW Wrapup from Justin Crossley on Vimeo.

For earlier SF Beer Week videos, see my previous post.

SF Beer Week Videos

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There are several videos up now from events during SF Beer Week. I heard from Steve Atkinson this morning that he has three up at his Beer Videos YouTube Channel. There are also three more at the SF Beer Week YouTube Channel. Steve Shapiro, from Beer by BART, also has a cool one up on YouTube of people on camera explaining why they love SF Beer Week. If you know of any more that are online, let me know and I’ll add a link here.

Lagunitas Beerlesque

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Last year, Lagunitas hosted one of the coolest events during SF Beer Week, the Beer Circus. It was a terrific event but this year because of its popularity they’re moving it to May as a stand-alone event that will be bigger than last year and also to take advantage of the better Spring weather. So instead they treated us to a mini-circus at Taps of Petaluma. Taps is less than one year old, but is already making a name for itself as one of the area’s best beer destinations. The Boiler Bar Theatre, who also had a burlesque and cabaret stage at the Beer Circus last year, brought several acts which they performed on a makeshift stage.

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Below is a slideshow of the Lagunitas Beerlesque. This Flickr gallery is best viewed in full screen. To view it that way, after clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, to see the photos in glorious full screen. Once in full screen slideshow mode, click on “Show Info” to identify each photo.

And here are a few videos of some of the Boiler Bar acts that performed at the Lagunitas Beerlesque:

Jodi’s Eastern Accent Dance

Hobo Strip Tease

Canadian Iceholes

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If you’re a regular viewer of Comedy Central’s Colbert Report, then you’re probably already aware of his mock feud with Canada over ice time for the U.S. speed skating team, which the show sponsored after the team lost its long-time previous supporter due to the economy. The Colbert Nation stepped up and donated thousands of dollars so the show could become the new sponsor. Colbert has featured the team on the show repeatedly. He also featured a story that the Canadian team was in some way keeping the U.S. team off the practice ice, though I can’t recall the exact details of the dispute. At any rate, in response, Colbert launched the Don’t Be An Ice-Hole campaign and even set up a Facebook page.

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Now a Vancouver microbrewery, R&B Brewing, has released a new one-off beer, just in time for the Winter Olympics and playing up the feud. The new beer is Iceholes Celebration Lager.

According to Vancouver’s Scout:

For limited release only, Vancouver’s Local Microbrewery, R&B Brewing Co. introduces Iceholes Celebration Lager in response to the recent “Don’t be an Ice-Hole” campaign against Canada started by Stephen Colbert, of Comedy Central’s Colbert Report. Barry Benson, co-owner of R&B Brewing Co. says “ We are proud syrup-sucking Canadian iceholes. In celebration of our icehole-ish behaviour we have decided to get even rather than get mad. Canadians can wreak their revenge against Stephen Colbert in a truly Canadian way and have a beer.”

R&B Brewing Co. Iceholes Celebration Lager is a medium bodied beer, gold in colour with a spicy aroma. Brewed in the tradition of a European Pilsner, Iceholes Lager has a snappy hop flavour and a clean dry finish creating a truly refreshing beer. Iceholes Celebration Lager will be available in 650ml bottles for a limited time only starting February 2, 2010. Consumers can purchase the specialty beer at independent beer stores and local Vancouver restaurants during the month of February.

To which I can only add, as Stephen Colbert would, U-Ice-A! U-Ice-A! Now that’s great marketing.

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Drinking All Over The Map

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If you’re a regular Bulletin reader, you know I believe that the drinking age in the U.S. is too high, that the age a person can vote and fight and/or die for one’s country should also be the age he or she can drink, as well. I lived through this ridiculous hypocritical double-standard when I was in the military thirty years ago, and I still hold a grudge. It was absurd then, and it’s absurd now.

I think most of us believe that America is a progressive country where freedom is something we take for granted, that it’s the lynchpin of our society with free speech, free assembly, freedom of religion, and on and on. But not when it comes to our puritanical view of alcohol, there we are nearly the most backward country in the world. When you take out the handful of countries that allow no alcohol consumption — which are all in the Middle East — only India has a drinking age higher than ours, and even that’s not nationwide, but on a state by state basis. I could talk about this ’till I’m blue in the face, but nothing shows this inequity better than a visual representation of drinking ages by country. Happily, Drinking Map went to the trouble of creating a world map showing the drinking age by country, where known. To see it larger, click through the image, then click on “all sizes.”

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As you can see, the vast majority of the world is at a sensible 18, with only a few other nations (all in the Middle East, too) that are 21 like us. Japan and most of Scandinavia set the age at 20 and South Korea along with parts of Canada are at 19.

But perhaps more interesting is the map below, also by the folks at Drinking Map, called Where “Adults” Can’t Drink. This map shows the relationship between a country’s age of majority (when a person is considered an “adult”) and the age at which they are permitted to drink alcohol. Notice that for a majority of nations (in green) that age is the same, as I believe it should be. A few more (in pink), like India and most of Scandinavia, allow some drinking but with certain restrictions. Then we, along with parts of Canada and a handful of other nations (in red), stand out as having a drinking age that’s higher than the age of majority. To see it larger, click through the image, then click on “all sizes.”

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Would it not be perhaps a reasonable compromise to allow 18-year olds to drink beer, or wine and beer, but not spirits until they’re 21? Anyway, just some food for thought.