Beer In Ads #2950: The Boat Beer Clown

March 31, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Sunday’s ad is for Der Bootclown, or the Boat Clown, from 1966. From the late 1800s until the 1960s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This was part of a series of postcards promoting beer by the German Brewers Association. It was created by German artist Jo Müller.

Beer In Ads #2949: The Babysitting Beer Clown

March 30, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Saturday’s ad is for Der Kinderwagenclown, or the Baby Carriage Clown, from 1966. From the late 1800s until the 1960s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This was part of a series of postcards promoting beer by the German Brewers Association. It was created by German artist Jo Müller.

Beer In Ads #2948: The Standing Beer Clown

March 29, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Friday’s ad is for Der Stehclown, or the Standing Clown, from 1966. From the late 1800s until the 1960s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This was part of a series of postcards promoting beer by the German Brewers Association. It was created by German artist Jo Müller.

Beer In Ads #2947: Hurra! Bier!

March 28, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Thursday’s ad is for Hurra! Bier!, from 1937. From the late 1800s until the 1960s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This was not part of the series of posters promoting beer by the German Brewers Association, the Swiss Brewery Association, and others, in the mid-20th century, but it seems to be in the same spirit of promoting beer generally. Many websites attribute it to French painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault, but he died in 1824, so it seems unlikely he created it nearly 100 years before the beer poster’s heyday, so it must have been someone else. The language appears to be German, so it likely wasn’t done in Géricault’s native country. It appears to have been made in Vienna, Austria by printmaker Paul Gerin, at least that appears on at least one copy of the print I found online. The small logo that’s visible above her left shoulder is for Gallery Otto, an Austrian art gallery that was founded in 1934, so the date at least makes sense. But there’s still no credible information about the artist who created the poster, which is a shame.

Because I couldn’t leave it there, I did finally discover that the original may have first appeared in the September 1937 issue of an Austrian magazine. The scan below is from that magazine, called simply “Wiener Magazine” (Viennese Magazine) which I found at ANNO – AustriaN Newspapers Online, described as “Historic Austrian newspapers and magazines online.” It appears to have been on page 100, which seems to be the back page of the magazine. Sadly, there’s still no information about the artist, but there is some satisfaction in possibly having found the origin of the art.

Fastest Growing Breweries in 2018

March 28, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Yesterday, the Brewers Association released its list of “50 Fastest Growing U.S. Craft Breweries of 2018.” This is the second year for the list, and I’m glad they started creating it last year, because the annual Top 50 list has grown increasingly static over the years, and isn’t a good way to see who’s shaking things up anymore. Most of the movement tends to now be confined to the bottom half or even the bottom quarter of the list, with minimal changes above that. This list, on the other hand, sees new breweries on it each year (at least so far) and gives a better picture of which breweries are moving product at a faster pace than the previous year. And while it’s probably on a small base, it still shows who’s worth watching.

From the press release:

Representing 27 states across the U.S., these small and independent breweries experienced a median growth of 163 percent with the median size being 1,350 barrels of in-house production in 2018. Breweries on the list range from 50 barrels to more than 40,000, and grew from less than 70,000 barrels collectively in 2017 to more than 170,000 barrels in 2018. As a group, these brewing companies represent approximately 10 percent of total craft growth by volume for the year, and include 13 brewpubs, 35 microbreweries, and two regional craft breweries.
“Even as market competition continues to increase, these small and independent breweries and brewpubs demonstrate there are still growth opportunities across a diverse set of regions and business models,” said Bart Watson, chief economist, Brewers Association.

In my neck of the woods — California — six breweries made the list. That represents 12% of the total. Half of the California breweries are in the Bay Area and Northern California, and they’re all in the top half of the list with one, Sacramento’s New Glory, in the Top 10. They opened in 2012. Of the other two, Woods Beer Co. has several locations now, and has been around for several years (16 brewing, 7 with their own brewery). The other one is Humble Sea Brewing, located in Santa Cruz, which just opened in early 2016. Congratulations to all the breweries who made the list.

This is a shortened version of the methodology they used, for the full write-up, see the BA’s press release.

Growth is measured based on production at their own facilities. Breweries must have opened by December 31, 2016 or earlier to be considered. It only includes breweries that reported 2018 production to the Brewers Association’s annual Beer Industry Production Survey; breweries with staff estimates or data from state excise tax reports were not considered. Breweries also needed a validated production figure for 2017, either via the production survey, or state excise tax data.

Beer In Ads #2946: Drinking Beer Helps Agriculture

March 28, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Wednesday’s ad is another ad for Wer Bier Trinkt, Hilft Der Landwirtschaft, or literally Those who drink beer, help the agriculture, from the 1960s. From the late 1800s until the 1960s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This was not part of the series of posters promoting beer by the German Brewers Association in the mid-20th century, but may have been a collaboration between the brewers’ group and an agriculture trade organization.

Beer In Ads #2945: Drinking Beer Helps Agriculture

March 26, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Tuesday’s ad is for Wer Bier Trinkt, Hilft Der Landwirtschaft, or literally Those who drink beer, help the agriculture, from the 1960s. From the late 1800s until the 1960s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This was not part of the series of posters promoting beer by the German Brewers Association in the mid-20th century, but may have been a collaboration between the brewers’ group and an agriculture trade organization.

Beer In Ads #2944: Fresh From The Beer Barrel

March 25, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Monday’s ad is for Frisch vom Fass Bier, or Fresh from the Beer Barrel, from 1966. From the late 1800s until the 1960s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This is part of a series of posters promoting beer by the German Brewers Association in the mid-20th century. It was created by German artist H. Heintz.

Beer In Ads #2943: Suntory Beer

March 24, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Sunday’s ad is for Suntory Beer, from 1985. From the late 1800s until the 1960s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. Swiss artist Herbert Leupin did a series of posters promoting beer by both the Swiss Breweries’ Association and the German Brewers Association. that began in the 1950s. He also later did work for specific breweries, such as Japan’s Suntory Beer.

Beer In Ads #2942: Dortmunder Union

March 23, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Saturday’s ad is for Dortmunder Union, from 1960. From the late 1800s until the 1960s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. Swiss artist Herbert Leupin did a series of posters promoting beer by both the Swiss Breweries’ Association and the German Brewers Association. that began in the 1950s. He also later did work for specific breweries, such as Dortmunder Union.

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