Friday’s ad is for Michelob, from 1976. Another weekend made for Michelob, this one apparently spent sailing. It sure nice of Michelob to buy them a sail, although it seems like that would cut into their profits.
Beer In Ads #1213: Dude Heaven
Thursday’s ad is for Goebel Beer, from 1947. Out on the dude ranch, as the team comes in single file in the background, a glass of beer is waiting at the finish line. Although it looks like maybe one person got in way early and starting to drink their beer already. Still, it’s quite a view. Heavenly.
What Does Family Friendly Mean? Alcohol At Farmer’s Markets
At farmer’s markets throughout California, you can buy locally grown food, fruit and vegetables, nuts and berries, prepared food, jewelry and other crafts and all manner of other products. The main difference between farmer’s market goods and others is that for the most part they’re grown or made in a relatively modest radius. The one product you can’t purchase, or sample, is alcohol. California Assembly Bill AB-2488 seeks to correct that. Not surprisingly, the shrill sheriff against all things fun, Alcohol Justice, is opposing this bill, and is strongly urging its supporters to help defeat the bill. I realize they can’t help themselves, having positioned themselves against absolutely everything and anything having to do with alcohol. Not to mention, every action they take is more about bringing attention, and potential donations to line their coffers, and not about common sense. Indeed, they’ve been veering farther and farther into ridiculous fringes of fanaticism recently.
Naturally, you can distill their complaints down to the most pernicious criticism of all: it’s about the kids. Of course it’s really not, but let’s look at their arguments:
[It] will negatively impact public health, an impact that is antithetic to what farmers’ markets largely stand for: improving community health through more healthy food choices.
Alcohol anywhere, in their sober brains, always impacts public health negatively, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. It really doesn’t matter where, or when, they’re firmly against it. But “more healthy food choices” includes the moderate consumption of alcohol, although they now are taking the position that even moderate drinking is harmful, going against the FDA and a majority of American’s personal experience. But from the simple perspective of being healthy, beer, wine and cider from small producers contains no additives or chemicals and are made from only natural, mostly agricultural ingredients. Many use local raw materials whenever possible. Beer, wine and cider are very healthy and local producers are very much in keeping with the spirt of farmer’s markets.
Farmers’ markets are family-friendly events commonly held in unrestrained public spaces, like streets, sidewalks and parking lots. Allowing for alcoholic beverage service in such venues is a recipe for increased alcohol-related harm.
I’m increasingly hearing this term “family-friendly.” What exactly does that mean? For Alcohol Justice, it appears to mean no alcohol, no anything that is strictly for adults. I believe they’d like the entire world to be family-friendly, which means making alcohol illegal again. But that’s complete bullshit. Family-friendly should not mean a world only Rated “G” with nothing adult in it. But that’s how they take it, for them Family-friendly means kids-only and the two are not the same, nor should they be. We’re training or raising our kids to be adults, and our job as parents is to prepare them to be adults. But for Alcohol Justice, and many other prohibitionists, they believe the best way to do that is for our kids to never, ever be exposed to anything adult in nature. That until they’re 18 — or 21 — they should never be exposed to or learn anything about the adult world. Then on that magic day when they’re declared an adult, we push them out into the world, utterly ignorant of anything they’re about to face. That’s the reason binge drinking at college is such a problem now, because of this idea of keeping kids sheltered from the adult world, another name for which is “the world.” There’s only one world, but prohibitionists think we should keep a wall between children and that world. It’s completely absurd, and counter-productive. It’s actually doing more harm than good, in my opinion. Family-friendly should mean anyplace where kids are not in any particular danger and are safe, but who doesn’t want that to be literally every place? I want to feel safe wherever I’m at, too, kids are not really part of the equation. With some limited exceptions (and not including farmer’s markets), kids should be able to be anywhere their parents choose to take them, period.
Children do not need to see their parents drinking wine or hard cider when they shop for fruit or vegetables; that practice is most damaging to impressionable young minds as youth expectations and attitudes will become more accepting of underage alcohol use. That “normalization” will be the message that youth will take away if this bill passes.
This one is the most obnoxious, and wrong. Children very much do “need to see their parents drinking wine or hard cider when they shop for fruit or vegetables.” It’s called modeling behavior, and how else would kids know what is proper drinking behavior unless they see their parents practicing it? It is absolutely not “damaging to impressionable young minds” to see their parents engaging in perfectly acceptable and legal behavior in a responsible manner. If that makes them “more accepting of underage alcohol use” then you’re not doing your job. There are many things that kids can’t do that their parents can. Do kids somehow start to be “more accepting” of driving a car before they get a license just because they continually see their parents driving? Are kids “normalized” into believing they should be stealing their parents’ car to go for a joyride just because they saw their Dad drive them to school? Of course not. They understand that it’s something they’re not allowed to do until they turn sixteen and obtain a license. It’s not that hard. To say otherwise is complete propaganda to further an absurd agenda.
This is especially true in Sonoma County — where we live — where there are currently 23 breweries, 5 cideries, 3 craft distilleries and 450 wineries. As a result, there are plenty of opportunities to be at local farmer’s markets. The cideries use local apples and many of the wineries grow their own grapes, too. Why shouldn’t they be every bit as welcome at a local farmer’s market as the nearby strawberry farmer or cattle rancher? They’re already a part of their community, usually donate time and money, not to mention all the positive economic impact they have in their area. It’s quite frankly insulting to say they’re not welcome because a child might see their Mom or Dad having a sip of wine.
As one of my favorite brewery slogans makes clear, “Beer is Agriculture.” It’s only natural it should be allowed at a farmer’s market.
Beer In Ads #1212: Joy
Wednesday’s ad is another ad for Schlitz, from 1953. In this Schlitz ad, a couple on the beach is having a picnic, with a few beers, of course. The lad is painting the name “Joy” on the boat, which given that the lass has a “J” monogram on her blouse, must be for her. But every time I see the name “Joy,” I can’t help but think of the old Harry Nilsson song Joy, which is a wonderfully weird song I’ve always loved, but then I’m a huge Nilsson fan.
Beer In Ads #1211: Wherefore Art Thou Schlitz
Tuesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1949. It’s one of Schlitz’s long-running three-panel series, with Romeo inexplicably up in the balcony, looking down on a tray of beer and his beloved Juliet making time with someone holding a script. So he went down to investigate, er, try some beer.
Beer In Ads #1210: The Beer From Maryland
Monday’s ad is for National Premium, from 1948, a beer also known as “The Beer From Maryland!” I love pictorial maps and this one in 3D is especially cool. According to the ad, beer connoisseurs include National Premium “Among the greatest beers on earth.” I’m not so sure about that claim.
Beer In Ads #1209: In Beer, Going First Class Is Michelob
Sunday’s ad is another one for Michelob, this time from 1967. Another Michelob ad, in this one apparently “In Beer, Going First Class Is Michelob. … Period.” According to the ad it’s “Brewed just like the famous Michelob draught,” which had been first introduced as a pasteurized version in 1961, and is the same year they also introduced the distinctive teardrop bottle.
Beer In Ads #1208: Weekends Were Made For Michelob
Saturday’s ad is for Michelob, from 19677. I love the jacket of the man seen in the bottle enjoying his weekend with a lobster dinner. I remember that decade, and had quite a few of my own fashion disasters. “Weekends were made for Michelob” was an inspired tagline, it’s just too bad the beer didn’t live up to the hype. It wasn’t exactly “an unexpected pleasure.”
Great Divide Announces New Production Brewery
This is great news. Brian Dunn of Great Divide Brewing in Denver, Colorado, has announced that they will be building a brand new production brewery on a five-acre site in the River North neighborhood. When completed, it will take capacity to around 100,000 barrels, and ultimately to a maximum of 250,000 when all is said and done. Last year, Great Divide made a little bit more than 37,000 barrels of beer. Phase One will start in a couple of months, which is to demolish the abandoned auto parts warehouse that currently sits on the land. Next, they’ll build a 70,000-square-foot warehouse to use for storage of kegs and packaged beer, a priority. That should be finished by the spring of 2015, qnd will also include a new canning line, meaning that Great Divide will begin canning their beers next year.
According to the Denver Post, “A tasting room and beer garden adjacent to the new production brewery – overlooking a planned city park, the South Platte River and the mountains beyond – is at least two and possibly three years down the road.” Once the brewery is operational, they’re repurpose the existing downtown brewery for smaller batch beers and special releases.
Congratulations to Brian and the brewery. I can’t wait to see the new brewery up and running.
Brian Dunn, on the former car salvage yard that will house the new Great Divide brewery, tap room and beer garden (photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
Beer In Ads #1207: Ale Man Eugene Burdick
Friday’s ad is another one for Ballantine Ale, also from 1963. In an ad series somewhat similar to the Blatz series, the “Ale Man” in the ad is a famous person, although more marginally famous tending more toward the manly fame. In this one, a second, and different, ad featuring political scientist, novelist, and non-fiction writer Eugene Burdick, who was also fond of scuba diving, making him “a man with a thirst for a manlier brew.”
