Brookston Beer Bulletin

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Beer In Ads #880: Viva El Gran Sabor

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Today’s ad is a holiday ad for Cinco de Mayo, for Miller Lite, though I don’t believe it’s very old. The model reminds me of Sofia Vergara from Modern Family, though my wife assures me it’s not. Viva El Gran Sabor translates as “experience the great taste.”

Given that the holiday commemorates the Battle of Puebla, where Mexican forces defeated Napoleon III’s French army in 1862, it’s odd how America has turned it into such a party holiday. Business Insider has an interesting take on How Beer Companies Turned A Minor Holiday Into America’s Favorite Mexican Drinking Day. And while it may be a relatively minor affair in Mexico, here in the States it’s actually an “official” holiday, at least since 2005, when in June of that year, the U.S. Congress sent a proclamation to the President for him to sign “calling upon the people of the United States to observe Cinco de Mayo ‘with appropriate ceremonies and activities.'” Certainly this ad shows the amount of reverence we tend to show for what should be a more solemn holiday. Maybe that’s what Congress meant by “appropriate ceremonies and activities.”

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Beer In Ads #879: Let’s Just Sit Awhile

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Friday’s ad is another one for the U.S. Brewers Foundation, also from 1956. Part of the “Beer Belongs” series, but beginning in 1956 they stopped numbering the ads, and unfortunately the series ended within a short time. This ad features a couple that had been gardening, but then it apparently started to rain, ruining their plans for the day. But they looked on the sunny side, and decided “let’s just sit awhile” and enjoy a few beers. As the ad copy suggests. “Be glad for the excuse to relax a bit over a long cold glass of beer.” Amen to that. It sure beats gardening in my mind.

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Extreme Ingredients

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Today’s infographic is from the Extreme Beer Festival that Beer Advocate puts on each year. It’s a cool flavor wheel showing many of the ingredients used in many extreme beers, and even has examples of beers using said ingredients in the outer ring of the wheel.

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Click here to see the infographic full size.

Beer In Ads #878: Come And Get It

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Thursday’s ad is for the U.S. Brewers Foundation, from 1956. Part of the “Beer Belongs” series, but beginning in 1956 they stopped numbering the ads, and unfortunately the series ended within a short time. This ad features a group of people camping by a lake with this great tagline. “Beer has its own friendly way of saying … ‘Come and get it.'” Indeed, “Beer Belongs — Enjoy it!”

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Beer In Ads #877: The Goodness Of Malt Goes Far Beyond Delicious Flavor

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Wednesday’s ad is for the Barley and Malt Institute, from 1959. This is the third ad I have from the now defunct trade group for barley growers. In this one a man is being delivered actual beer while watching beer on television. How meta. I love the expression on his face. According to the ad, “The goodness of Malt goes far beyond delicious flavor.” Beyond “Fun Flavor,” “malt renews your energy” and also has “important B-complex vitamins.”

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Glassware By Beer Style

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Today’s infographic is a poster of the most common glassware for beer, with a list of styles below each glass that whoever created the poster believes would work best with each one. I’m not sure I agree with every choice, but at least some styles are listed with multiple glassware. That suggests that none of this is written in stone, which we all know, of course.

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Click here to see the poster full size.