Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Ballantine’s Literary Ads: James A. Michener

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Between 1951 and 1953, P. Ballantine and Sons Brewing Company, or simply Ballentine Beer, created a series of ads with at least thirteen different writers. They asked each one “How would you put a glass of Ballantine Ale into words?” Each author wrote a page that included reference to their beer, and in most cases not subtly. One of them was James A. Michener, who’s best known for Tales of the South Pacific.

Today is the birthday of James A. Michener (February 3, 1907–October 16, 1997), who “was an American author of more than 40 books, the majority of which were fictional, lengthy family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating solid history. Michener was known for the popularity of his works; he had numerous bestsellers and works selected for Book of the Month Club. He was also known for his meticulous research behind the books.

Michener’s novels include Tales of the South Pacific for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948, Hawaii, The Drifters, Centennial, The Source, The Fires of Spring, Chesapeake, Caribbean, Caravans, Alaska, Texas and Poland. His non-fiction works include Iberia, about his travels in Spain and Portugal; his memoir titled The World Is My Home, and Sports in America. Return to Paradise combines fictional short stories with Michener’s factual descriptions of the Pacific areas where they take place.”

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His piece for Ballantine was done in the form of a letter of recommendation:

Ale, as Ballantine brews it, is one of man’s noblest drinks, and I speak from more than a passing acquaintance with the great beers and ales of the world.

In Ballantine Ale one finds the refreshing thirst-quenching qualities so welcome on a warm day; but hidden in its amber depths is a goodness, a character, a strong satisfying flavor, found in no other brewed beverage.

I commend Ballantine Ale to you as a thirst-quencher, a lesiure-time glass eminently designed to promote sociability.

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Beer In Ads #2175: Heineken Refreshes The Ugly Duckling

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Thursday’s ad is for Heineken, from the 1977. In the later 1970s, Heineken embarked on a series of ads with the tagline “Heineken Refreshes the Parts Other Beers Cannot Reach.” Many of the ads were in a sequential panel, or comic strip, format and they were intended to be humorous.

In this ad, a three-panel format, the ugly duckling is crying over his treatment at the hands (or wings?) of the prettier ducklings, when he happens upon a can of beer floating in the pond. Taking a sip, he’s transformed in to a beautiful white swan. Talk about beer goggles.

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Brewhog Determines 6 More Weeks Of Winter Beers For 2017

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Over in Gobbler’s Knob, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Phil the Groundhog — a.k.a. the Brewhog — raised up his head this morning and looked around, and this year and saw his shadow. You know what that means? It’s six more weeks of drinking winter beers this year. Or something about a late spring, I can’t keep it straight. You can see a video of Punxsutawney Phil here. And there’s more information about Groundhog Day at the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

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But this year, I suppose given how the year is going isn’t too surprising, not every groundhog agrees on what the future hold. For example, both Staten Island Chuck along with General Beau Lee in Georgia have predicted an early spring. And so did Shubenacadie Sam in Canada.

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Although another Canadian groundhog, Balzac Billy, from Alberta, Canada, did see his shadow and so is predicting six more weeks of winter, as did Buckeye Chuck of Ohio and Essex Ed of Orange, New Jersey. And so did Big Al, a 14-foot, 1,000-pound alligator, from Texas, who is given KFC chicken each February 2. If he eats the chicken, it’s an early spring, if he passes, then it’s more winter. This year, he didn’t eat.

So it’s up in the air whether, I mean weather, we’ll have an early spring or more winter. I tend to go with the original, Punxsutawney Phil, but for no better reason then I’m from Pennsylvania. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

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In Alaska, they celebrate Marmot Day.

Fingers crossed. And if you don’t have time to watch all of the deliciously wonderful Groundhog Day film today, here it is in a slightly shorter version just over three minutes.

Beer In Ads #2174: Heineken Refreshes Medieval Tapestries

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Wednesday’s ad is for Heineken, from the 1970s. In the later 1970s, Heineken embarked on a series of ads with the tagline “Heineken Refreshes the Parts Other Beers Cannot Reach.” Many of the ads were in a sequential panel, or comic strip, format and they were intended to be humorous.

In this ad, a three-panel format, it resembles a medieval tapestry. In the first panel, and arrow’s heading straight for our ancient soldier’s head. But in the second, he has a mug of beer, which by the third panel has turned the arrow into a rubber-tipped suction cup arrow, saving his ass and causing him to smile.

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Beer In Ads #2173: Harry Von Zell & Bill Goodwin For Pabst

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Tuesday’s ad is for Pabst Blue Ribbon, from 1950. In the later 1940s, Pabst embarked on a series of ads with celebrity endorsements, photographing star actors, athletes, musicians and other famous people in their homes, enjoying Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. This one features two celebrities, Harry Von Zell and Bill Goodwin. Von Zell “was an announcer of radio programs and an actor in films and television shows. He is best remembered for his work on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, and for once mispronouncing President Herbert Hoover’s name on the air, a slip that was exaggerated on a later comedy record album.” And Goodwin “was for many years the announcer and a recurring character of the Burns and Allen radio program, and subsequently The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show on television from 1950-1951. Upon his departure, he was replaced by Harry von Zell.”

In the ad, the pair of announcers are at a bowling alley, enjoying some beer while throwing a few games. They’re both wearing some pretty audacious bowling shirts, pretty much the only way for a 1950s man to wear any color. Harry’s taking a break and pouring himself a beer, while Bill’s about to (hopefully) knock down some pins.

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Beer In Ads #2172: Larry Hughes For Pabst

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Monday’s ad is for Pabst Blue Ribbon, from 1950. In the later 1940s, Pabst embarked on a series of ads with celebrity endorsements, photographing star actors, athletes, musicians and other famous people in their homes, enjoying Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. This one features Larry Hughes. He was the national champion in archery for 1941, using newly developed aluminum arrows. Unlike almost every other Pabst celebrity in this series, there’s very little information about Hughes out there apart from a few simple mentions of him on archery websites. For example, on the efforts of Doug Easton to pioneer aluminum arrows, Abbey Archery has this to say:

1939 saw Doug move to yet another larger facility in Los Angeles. It was at this new facility that Doug began his search for an alternative to the wooden arrow. One of the first set of metal arrows made by Doug during the first year in this new building was given to local champion archer Larry Hughes. Larry shot these arrows very successfully in tournaments until 1941, when Larry won the National Championship with these new metal arrows. However, World War II was now in full force, and aluminum was no longer available for anything that was not war related. This effectively ended Doug’s efforts to perfect the new arrow until the end of the war.

In the ad, Hughes appears to be at an archery range, perched on a ledge, with a beer in his hand. Next to him, from a chair, his drinking buddy is apparently shooting from the clubhouse lounge. But on closer inspection, he’s just holding the arrow in his hand and sighting it, with no bow. I guess somebody’s had a few too many beers, and they took away his bow.

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Beer In Ads #2171: Ben Hogan For Pabst

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Sunday’s ad is for Pabst Blue Ribbon, from 1951. In the later 1940s, Pabst embarked on a series of ads with celebrity endorsements, photographing star actors, athletes, musicians and other famous people in their homes, enjoying Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. This one features Ben Hogan. He “was an American professional golfer, generally considered one of the greatest players in the history of the game. Born within six months of two other acknowledged golf greats of the 20th century, Sam Snead and Byron Nelson, Hogan is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory and his legendary ball-striking ability.

His nine career professional major championships tie him with Gary Player for fourth all-time, trailing only Jack Nicklaus (18), Tiger Woods (14) and Walter Hagen (11). He is one of only five golfers to have won all four major championships currently open to professionals (the Masters Tournament, The Open (despite only playing once), the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship). The other four are Nicklaus, Woods, Player, and Gene Sarazen.”

In the ad, Hogan is in the clubhouse, presumably after playing a round of golf, because he was good, but I’m guessing he still wouldn’t be as good after a few glasses of beer. Although personally, my golf game improves when I’m lubricated.

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Beer In Ads #2170: Johnny Weissmuller For Pabst

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Saturday’s ad is for Pabst Blue Ribbon, from 1950. In the later 1940s, Pabst embarked on a series of ads with celebrity endorsements, photographing star actors, athletes, musicians and other famous people in their homes, enjoying Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. This one features Johnny Weissmuller. He “was a Hungarian-born American competition swimmer and actor, best known for playing Tarzan in films of the 1930s and 1940s and for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. Weissmuller was one of the world’s fastest swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals for swimming and one bronze medal for water polo. He won fifty-two U.S. national championships, set more than fifty world records (spread over both freestyle and backstroke), and was purportedly undefeated in official competition for the entirety of his competitive career. After retiring from competitions, he became the sixth actor to portray Edgar Rice Burroughs’s ape man, Tarzan, a role he played in twelve motion pictures. Dozens of other actors have also played Tarzan, but Weissmuller is by far the best known. His character’s distinctive Tarzan yell is still often used in films.”

In the ad, Weissmuller is lounging at a pool. He obviously hasn’t been in the water, because his hair is perfect and his towel is dry. And I guess he should wait at least thirty minutes now that he’s drinking a beer.

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Beer In Ads #2169: Pancho Gonzalez For Pabst

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Thursday’s ad is for Pabst Blue Ribbon, from 1950. In the later 1940s, Pabst embarked on a series of ads with celebrity endorsements, photographing star actors, athletes, musicians and other famous people in their homes, enjoying Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. This one features Pancho Gonzalez. He “was an American tennis player. He was the World No. 1 tennis player for an all-time record eight years from 1952 to 1960. He won 17 Major singles titles, including 15 Pro Slams and 2 Grand Slams.

Largely self-taught, Gonzales was a successful amateur player in the late 1940s, twice winning the United States Championships. He is still widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of the game. A 1999 Sports Illustrated article about the magazine’s 20 “favorite athletes” of the 20th century said about Gonzales (their number 15 pick): “If earth was on the line in a tennis match, the man you want serving to save humankind would be Ricardo Alonso Gonzalez.” The American tennis commentator Bud Collins echoed this in an August 2006 article for MSNBC.com: “If I had to choose someone to play for my life, it would be Pancho Gonzales.”

In the ad, Gonzalez has (probably) just come off the court, and is relaxing with a friend, sharing two bottles of beer. It’s one of the only one of this series of ads in which the beer appears to have already been consumed. Usually, the glass is full. Here it’s half empty, or is that half full?

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Beer In Ads #2168: Larry Doby For Pabst

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Thursday’s ad is for Pabst Blue Ribbon, from 1949. In the later 1940s, Pabst embarked on a series of ads with celebrity endorsements, photographing star actors, athletes, musicians and other famous people in their homes, enjoying Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. This one features Mr. and Mrs. Larry Doby. He “was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who was the second black player to break baseball’s color barrier. A native of Camden, South Carolina and three-sport all-state athlete while in high school in Paterson, New Jersey, Doby accepted a basketball scholarship from Long Island University. At 17 years of age, he began his professional baseball career with the Newark Eagles as the team’s second baseman. Doby joined the United States Navy during World War II. His military service complete, Doby returned to baseball in 1946, and along with teammate Monte Irvin, helped the Eagles win the Negro League World Series.”

In July 1947, three months after Jackie Robinson, Doby broke the MLB color barrier in the American League when he signed a contract to play with Bill Veeck’s Cleveland Indians. Doby was the first player to go directly to the majors from the Negro leagues. A seven-time All-Star center fielder, Doby and teammate Satchel Paige were the first African-American players to win a World Series championship when the Indians won in 1948. He helped the Indians win a franchise-record 111 games and the AL pennant in 1954, finished second in the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award voting and was the AL’s RBI leader and home run champion. He went on to play for the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, and Chunichi Dragons before his retirement as a player in 1962.

Doby later served as the second black manager in the majors with the Chicago White Sox, and in 1995 was appointed to a position in the AL’s executive office. He also served as a director with the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 by the Hall’s Veterans Committee and died in 2003 at the age of 79.

In the ad, Doby is in his home, sharing a beer with, presumably, a friend, while holding a baseball trophy in his hands. I feel like at some point he’s going to have to put that down, or he won’t be able to drink an of his beer.

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