Brookston Beer Bulletin

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The Secret Life of Machines: Adnams Brewery

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animated-tim
A favorite British television show of mine was The Secret Life of Machines, by Tim Hunkin, whose birthday is today, January 1, 1950. Hunkin is “an English engineer, cartoonist, writer, and artist living in Suffolk, England. He is best known for creating the Channel Four television series The Secret Life of Machines, in which he explains the workings and history of various household devices. He has also created museum exhibits for institutions across the UK, and designed numerous public engineering works, chiefly for entertainment. Hunkin’s works are distinctive, often recognisable by his unique style of papier-mâché sculpture (made from unpainted newsprint), his pen and ink cartoons, and his offbeat sense of humour.” Given that his show, three seasons between 1988-1993, was about how machines work, it’s surprisingly low-key and minimalist, but quite fascinating. And often very funny.

Anyway, in 1977, Adnams Brewery, commissioned Hunkin to create a poster of their brewery in Suffolk. Hunkin remembered. “I spent a month drawing it and so enjoyed the experience that I moved out of London to Suffolk where I’ve lived ever since. I didn’t even drink much of the beer at the time. Before drawing it, I don’t think I had ever appreciated how the combination of words and drawings can make conveying information much clearer and simpler. I was able to dramatically cut the text about the brewing process by having it integrated with the drawing of the vats and pipes. I think all journalists should be taught to draw.”

I have a couple of books by Hunkin that are filled with detailed doodle drawings with loads of text like this, and they’re great, so I’d love to see what he wrote in this poster although the biggest file of the poster I could find wasn’t quite big enough to read it all.

adnams_brewery-poster
Or you can see it full size here.

Beer In Ads #2507: The Pelican, That Feathered Freak

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Sunday’s ad is for Guinness, from 1952. While the best known Guinness ads were undoubtedly the ones created by John Gilroy, Guinness had other creative ads throughout the same period and afterward, too, which are often overlooked. This ad, one of many that used Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (at least I think this is one that did) features a pelican, with another one in the background with four bottles of Guinness in his bill, being chased by a zookeeper. And at the bottom is this simple poem:

The Pelican, that feathered freak,
Is famed for his capacious beak.
Guinness provides the reason why —
His bill is for a week’s supply!

Guinness-1952-pelican

Beer In Ads #2506: The Ostrich, Travelers Recall

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Saturday’s ad is for Guinness, from 1952. While the best known Guinness ads were undoubtedly the ones created by John Gilroy, Guinness had other creative ads throughout the same period and afterward, too, which are often overlooked. This ad, one of many that used Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (at least I think this is one that did) features an ostrich, with three more in the background, one of which swallowed the zookeeper’s pint glass. And at the bottom is this simple poem:

The Ostrich, travelers recall,
Enjoys his Guinness, glass and all.
How sad the Guinness takes so long
To get to where it does belong!

Guinness-1952-ostrich

Beer In Ads #2505: Ma-Supials Have A Pouch, Or Bin

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Friday’s ad is for Guinness, from 1952. While the best known Guinness ads were undoubtedly the ones created by John Gilroy, Guinness had other creative ads throughout the same period and afterward, too, which are often overlooked. This ad, one of many that used Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (at least I think this is one that did) features a kangaroo, with another one in the background surprising a zookeeper. And at the bottom is this simple poem:

Ma-supials have a pouch, or bin
To stow their little treasures in.
Not strange if Mrs. Kangaroo
Should poppa a Guinness in it, too!

Guinness-1952-kangaroos

Beer In Ads #2504: Insatiable Carnivore!

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Thursday’s ad is for Guinness, from 1952. While the best known Guinness ads were undoubtedly the ones created by John Gilroy, Guinness had other creative ads throughout the same period and afterward, too, which are often overlooked. This ad, one of many that used Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (at least I think this is one that did) features a roaring lion, with another one in the background chasing a zookeeper who’s holding a bottle and glass of Guinness on a tray. And at the bottom is this simple poem:

Insatiable carnivore!
Oh, how voraciously you roar!
Is it because, like us, you feel
You need a Guinness with your meal?

Guinness-1952-lions

Beer In Ads #2503: You Must Admire The Sea-Lion’s Flair

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Wednesday’s ad is for Guinness, from 1952. While the best known Guinness ads were undoubtedly the ones created by John Gilroy, Guinness had other creative ads throughout the same period and afterward, too, which are often overlooked. This ad, one of many that used Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (at least I think this is one that did) features a couple of sea lions, one of them balancing a glass of Guinness on its nose. And at the bottom is this simple poem:

You must admire the sea-lion’s flair
For catching fishes in mid-air:
And this sagacious creature knows
How well, with sea-food Guinness goes.

Guinness-1952-sea-lions

Beer In Ads #2502: Battle Royal

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Tuesday’s ad is for Guinness, from 1931. While the best known Guinness ads were undoubtedly the ones created by John Gilroy, Guinness had other creative ads throughout the same period and afterward, too, which are often overlooked. This ad, one of many that used Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is titled “Battle Royal,” and features a boxing match (it is Boxing Day after all) between a unicorn and a lion. There’s fighting over the last remaining Guinness.

Guinness-battle-royal

Beer In Ads #2501: Goodbye Santa

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Monday’s ad is for Guinness, from 1959. While the best known Guinness ads were undoubtedly the ones created by John Gilroy, Guinness had other creative ads throughout the same period and afterward, too, which are often overlooked. This ad, which is the cover of the “Guinness Harp” from the issue for Christmas 1959. “The Guinness Harp” was the “Journal of the Home of Guinness, St. James’s Gate, Dublin.” On the cover, Santa is leaving the brewery will a full sack and four bottles tucked into his pockets. No idea what’s in the sack, but it would be interesting to find out.

Guinness-1959-santa-xmas-harp

Order Of Temperance Founded Christmas Day

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hesse-kassel
Here’s an interesting, and odd, bit of history. One of the earliest temoperance socities, the Order of Temperance, was founded on Christmas Day, December 25, 1600. It was established by Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, or Hesse-Cassel, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire.

Here’s a short history of the Order, from “The Gentlemen’s Magzine, published in 1836:

order-of-temp

They were trying to put an end to the custom of “pledging healths,” which in that time period meant drinking to the health of everyone and everything; or toasting. So the Order of Temperance had its members pledge “to never become intoxicated.” Which is all well and good, except for one tiny little detail. The order had strict rules on alcoholic consumption and they were allowed no more than seven alcoholic drinks per meal, and only two meals per day; essentially they were restricted to only fourteen glasses or wine or beer per day. That was their idea of temperance. That doesn’t actually sound too bad, now does it? I think most of us could have taken that pledge.

maurice-hesse
Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel

Beer In Ads #2500: Christmas Is Coming

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Sunday’s ad is for Guinness, from 1934. While the best known Guinness ads were undoubtedly the ones created by John Gilroy, Guinness had other creative ads throughout the same period and afterward, too, which are often overlooked. This ad, with the tagline “Christmas Is Coming … Guinness For Strength” shows Santa carrying a large tree as if weighs nothing after having had a bottle of Guinness. Merry Christmas.

Guinness-1934-christmas-coming