Lucky Lager Returns

May 6, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Pabst announced today that they’re re-introducing Lucky Lager in the Bay Area. The iconic local beer has been absent from store shelves for four decades, but I’m pretty sure it was still around when I moved here in 1985. By then, according to Wikipedia, beginning in “July 1985, the Olympia Brewing Company in Tumwater, WA began to produce Lucky Lager in the US. In July 2003, this brewery was also closed. Lucky Lager continued to be sold in its original Northern California range at Lucky Stores supermarkets, which although not affiliated, sold Lucky Lager as an unofficial value store brand, until Lucky Stores supermarkets were bought out by Albertson’s and the name of the supermarkets was changed around 2000.”

But as long as I’ve been here, people have been waxing nostalgic about the brand. Apparently, it saw a lot of Bay Area folks through college and their lean years, as an affordable beer brand. And now, they’re bringing it back, albeit without the iconic label and a reimagined modern take on the packaging. I feel like appealing to the nostalgia for the brand — something Pabst knows a thing or two about — would have been a better idea, although only time will tell. On the plus side, it’s being brewed under contract by the 21st Amendment Brewery in San Leandro. When I spoke to co-owner Shaun O’Sullivan, he told me it was under arrangement with Pabst to brew and can the beer for them. At 4.2% it could be a good session lager, something that could definitely be useful. I’m actually looking forward to tasting it, and part of that has to do with 21st Amendment’s involvement.

Here’s the press release from Pabst:

The Gold Rush and Tech Boom are iconic examples of the good fortune emanating from the Bay Area. San Francisco attracts visionaries and entrepreneurs willing to put in the sweat equity to make their dreams a reality. For most of the last century, Lucky Lager was the Bay Area’s beer of choice after a long day. Now, this Bay Area classic has been reimagined as a premium lager to inspire a new generation working tirelessly to turn dreams into reality.
Founded on the heels of prohibition, Lucky Lager became synonymous with the city of San Francisco and a favorite of the diverse cultures that call it home. In an effort to revive Lucky and restore its local roots, Pabst tapped San Leandro-based 21 st Amendment for help with brewing and canning, and San Francisco-based design agency Hatch to helm the redesign. “San Francisco is a town where anyone with a persevering mindset and dedicated spirit can get ‘lucky’ and strike it big,” said Matt Bruhn, General Manger at Pabst. “We want Lucky Lager to be your reward for a hard day’s work.”
San Francisco-based design agency Hatch created the new Lucky Lager can, a modern interpretation of the iconic original. Six packs present “Lucky” in one of five local languages heard every day on the streets of San Francisco, including English, Chinese, Spanish, Korean and Vietnamese. This new design concept is an initial nod to the area’s rich cultural diversity and a subtle reminder that luck is a universal phenomenon. “Lucky represents sketch dreams and napkin schemes; it’s a beer meant to celebrate both the wins and failures that pave the road to success,” said Nicole Flores, Creative Director at Hatch.
“Born in San Francisco, Lucky Lager is infused with the same drive, where “X” marks the spot for determination, imagination and desire that make the Bay Area so alluring. Such qualities are inherent to the beer and to those in the Bay who drink it.”
A unique, unfiltered lager that pours with a pale straw color and a clean white head, Lucky Lager introduces itself with the aroma of sweet corn, toasted bread and light notes of citrus fruits from delicate hops. At 4.2% ABV, Lucky welcomes you with notes of light malt, floral earthy hops, and slight honey, with a creamy and satisfying carbonation. It finishes crisp with a pleasant linger, proving that being Lucky is refreshing.
Lucky Lager is exclusively available throughout the Bay Area and Northern California. For more information on distribution and our story, please visit luckylagersf.com.

lucky-cans — The five different Lucky cans being prodiced.

Beer In Ads #2985: Poretti Tower

May 5, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Sunday’s ad is for Birra Poretti, from around 1900. 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 poster is for Birificio Angelo Poretti, a brewery located in Varese, Italy. The brewery was founded in 1877, but in 1982 the Carlsberg Group bought a 50% stake, which today is 75%. This poster was part of a series of art nouveau prints created by Italian artist Ludovico Cavaleri who was a fine artist first, but also worked as an illustrator and commercial artist.

And here is another version of the same poster artwork, but just the top half, suggesting it may have been in two parts, or maybe it simply folded.

Beer In Ads #2984: Poretti From the Hills Looking Into Town

May 4, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Saturday’s ad is for Birra Poretti, from around 1900. 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 poster is for Birificio Angelo Poretti, a brewery located in Varese, Italy. The brewery was founded in 1877, but in 1982 the Carlsberg Group bought a 50% stake, which today is 75%. This poster was part of a series of art nouveau prints created by Italian artist Ludovico Cavaleri who was a fine artist first, but also worked as an illustrator and commercial artist.

And here is another version of the same poster artwork, but just the top half, suggesting it may have been in two parts, or maybe it simply folded.

Beer In Ads #2983: Poretti Fabbrica Di Birra

May 3, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Friday’s ad is for Birra Poretti, from around 1900. 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 poster is for Birificio Angelo Poretti, a brewery located in Varese, Italy. The brewery was founded in 1877, but in 1982 the Carlsberg Group bought a 50% stake, which today is 75%. This poster was part of a series of art nouveau prints created by Italian artist Ludovico Cavaleri who was a fine artist first, but also worked as an illustrator and commercial artist.

Why Do People Drink Beer?

May 3, 2019 By Jay Brooks

That also seems like a silly question, but of course when the temperance movement was in full swing and prohibition might actually happen, it was a question people asked. And the brewers had an answer. This is an ad published in the Cattaraugus Republican on May 3, 1917. The small newspaper served the residents of and around Little Valley, New York, and I suspect the ad appeared in newspapers throughout the state since it was sponsored by the New York State Brewers’ Association.

Initially, brewers were not worried about prohibition because before the U.S. government imposed personal income taxes on all its citizens, a lot of its operating income came from excise taxes and the brewing industry contributed a sizable percentage of the U.S. budget. But once the 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913, and everybody began paying income tax, they understandably grew worried. Without their contributions to the government as a bulwark to prohibition, they felt it was much more likely that the prohibitionists could be successful and jumped into action with ads defending their industry and beer itself. It was too little, too late, and as we all know, the 18th Amendment was passed in 1919, just six years after the imposition of income taxes.

But I have to give them points for trying. This particular ad is Talk No. 10 and the bottom of it references that Talk No. 11 will appear the following week, suggesting a series and concerted effort to get their message out. You can find more like this one, both by the New York association and by other state guilds and they all share the theme of trying to persuade consumers not to support temperance efforts and portray beer as a wholesome drink for everyone. Some of their arguments, naturally are better than others, with a few almost laughably thin. But this one I especially like as it just sings the praises of everyday beer drinking. Who could argue with that?

Why Do People Drink Beer?
The reason most people drink beer is because it tastes good. The reason they go on drinking beer is because it continues to do them good.
Beer is an ideal beverage. It quenches the thirst, gives nutriment to the body, and cheers up the spirits.
It is a wholesome food. The term “food” includes anything, either solid or liquid, that restores the waste tissues of the body or supplies heat and energy. The food contents of beer are all wholesome and nutritious. Besides being a food it is a beverage; that is, it not only sustains the body, but it satisfies thirst.
It contains just enough alcohol to refresh the system, sharpen the appetite and produce a general feeling of well being.
Beer is pleasing to all the senses. It is good to look at, its aroma is attractive, its taste is snappy and it is ideally adapted to gratify the cravings of the human body.
Centuries of use have established beer as the ideal drink, giving the maximum of pleasure.

Beer In Ads #2982: Birra Poretti Hill

May 2, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Thursday’s ad is for Birra Poretti, from around 1900. 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 poster is for Birificio Angelo Poretti, a brewery located in Varese, Italy. The brewery was founded in 1877, but in 1982 the Carlsberg Group bought a 50% stake, which today is 75%. This poster was part of a series of art nouveau prints created by Italian artist Ludovico Cavaleri who was a fine artist first, but also worked as an illustrator and commercial artist.

The image above is probably closest to the original, but the one below shows the colors more brightly, although I suspect it’s reproduction because the detail isn’t nearly as sharp.

Beer In Ads #2981: Birra Poretti

May 1, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Wednesday’s ad is for Birra Poretti, from 1900. 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 poster is for Birificio Angelo Poretti, a brewery located in Varese, Italy. The brewery was founded in 1877, but in 1982 the Carlsberg Group bought a 50% stake, which today is 75%. The poster was created by Italian artist Aleardo Villa.

Beer In Ads #2980: Triumphator

April 30, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Tuesday’s ad is for Triumphator Löwenbräu, from 1940 or 1950. 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 more recent poster is for Triumphator Löwenbräu, a doppelbock brand from the brewery, Löwenbräu AG, located in Munich. The beer is still being brewed today. No one seems to know who the artist was, and at least one source thinks he or she may have been Swiss, although most believe the artist was German.

Beer In Ads #2979: Gurten Bier

April 29, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Monday’s ad is for Gurten Bier, from 1993. 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 more recent poster is for Gurten Bier, a beer brand of the former brewery, Gurten Bier AG, located in Gurten, nearby the city of Bern, Switzerland. The brewery was founded in 1864 by Johann Juker, but today is owned by Carlsberg. The poster was created by Swiss graphic designer Reinhart Morscher.

Beer In Ads #2978: Bière du Cardinal Friborg

April 28, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Sunday’s ad is for Bière du Cardinal Friborg, from 1910. 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. Brasserie Cardinal was founded in 1788 by François Piller, and is located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The brewery was acquired by Feldschlösschen in 1991. It’s not known who the artist is that created this poster, at least I wasn’t able to discover who made it.

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