Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Beer In Ads #3717: Coors Calendar 1904

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Wednesday’s ad is for “Coors Beer,” from 1904. This ad was made for the Coors Brewing Co., who did not do as much advertising as their competitors. In part, this was because they were not sold nationwide until the 1980s. This one is from a calendar Coors produced for 1904, showing, as was common at the time, a Gibson Girl, which was “the personification of the feminine ideal of physical attractiveness as portrayed by the pen-and-ink illustrations of artist Charles Dana Gibson during a 20-year period that spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States. The artist saw his creation as representing the composite of “thousands of American girls.”

Beer In Ads #3716: Coors, Phone Home

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Tuesday’s ad is for “Coors Beer,” from 1982. This ad was made for the Coors Brewing Co., who did not do as much advertising as their competitors. In part, this was because they were not sold nationwide until the 1980s. This one shows the alien from “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” behind a bar, with the tagline “If you go beyond your limit, please don’t drive. ‘Phone Home.'” It’s actually a nice play on the catch phrase from the film and PSA ads at the time encouraging people not to drink and drive. The film and the ad are both from 1982, so it seems like it would have been a timely ad.

Beer Saints: St. Florian

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Today is the feast day of St. Florian (250 C.E. – c. 304 C.E.). He was born in the ancient Roman city of Aelium Cetium (present-day Sankt Pölten, Austria). He joined the Roman Army and advanced in the ranks, rising to commander of the imperial army in the Roman province of Noricum. In addition to his military duties, he was also responsible for organizing and leading firefighting brigades. Florian organized and trained an elite group of soldiers whose sole duty was to fight fires. He’s the patron saint of Linz, Austria, Upper Austria and Poland; chimney sweeps; soapmakers, and firefighters. But more importantly, he’s also the patron saint of brewers, coopers and barrel-makers

He’s probably best known for being the patron saint of firefighters and against flooding and fires; and he’s most often depicted emptying a pitcher to put out a fire. Apparently the reason he’s also a patron of brewers and beer lovers because both are also known for emptying pitchers. And because the pitcher is often shown as wooden, he’s become a patron to coopers and barrel-makers, too.

Saint Florian, by Italian painter Francesco del Cossa, 1743.

That is also the reason that Sonoma County firefighter Aron Levin, along with his wife Amy, opened St. Florian’s Brewery in Windsor, California. Unfortunately, due to the recent wildfires in our area, plus the pandemic, the brewery is temporarily closed right now, but hopefully will reopen shortly.

Beer In Ads #3715: The Surprise Is How Good It Tastes

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Monday’s ad is for “Coors Beer,” from 1981. This ad was made for the Coors Brewing Co., who did not do as much advertising as their competitors. In part, this was because they were not sold nationwide until the 1980s. This one shows what I presume are a quartet of football players on the same team (given that they’re wearing the same jerseys but with different numbers). Even with the tagline “The surprise is how good it tastes,” the look of surprise on their faces is pretty overblown. And it’s also hard not to notice just how overly white their teeth are; it’s so over the top they’re glowing.

Beer In Ads #3714: Cash For Cans

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Sunday’s ad is for “Coors Beer,” from 1974. This ad was made for the Coors Brewing Co., who did not do as much advertising as their competitors. In part, this was because they were not sold nationwide until the 1980s. This one plays into the burgeoning ecology movement in the 1970s with the headline “CASH for CANS” and is about beer distributor’s recycling efforts.

Beer In Ads #3712: Coors Lager Beer

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Friday’s ad is for “Coors Beer,” from 1890. This ad was made for the Coors Brewing Co., who did not do as much advertising as their competitors. In part, this was because they were not sold nationwide until the 1980s. This one is fairly simple, just showing two bottles, one of their Export Beer and the other of Pilsener Lager Beer. The font is rather interesting, though. I wonder what that specific font might be?

Beer In Ads #3710: Coors, Of Course

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Wednesday’s ad is for “Coors Beer,” from the 1930s. This ad was made for the Coors Brewing Co., who did not do as much advertising as their competitors. In part, this was because they were not sold nationwide until the 1980s. This one features a woman with a beer in her hand, saying “What a mellow flavor — and how it makes one glow,” to which the ad replies “That’s Why Most Folks Say —” leading to the headline “Coors, of Course.” I love that they’re making such a big deal out of “that glowing after-effect produced by Coors Golden Beer.” And one of the reasons for that “glow” is “its full legal stimulant content.”

Beer In Ads #3709: Coors Leadership

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Tuesday’s ad is for “Coors Beer,” from 1936. This ad was made for the Coors Brewing Co., who did not do as much advertising as their competitors. In part, this was because they were not sold nationwide until the 1980s. This one features the headline “Leadership” and then proceeds to try to make the case that good leadership makes the beer taste better, sort of, at least it’s a bit of stretch to connect the two, although that seems to be the case for all of their advertising throughout the later half of the 1930s.