In case you missed it, yesterday’s New York Times had an article on Brettanomyces entitled Brettanomyces, a Funky Yeast, Makes Flavorful Beers that’s worth a read.
Beer In Ads #769: To Guard Your Well-Being
Thursday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1942. It’s a funny ad that would be totally illegal today thanks to the work of the prohibitionists and neo-prohibitionists, who have turned from trying to ban alcohol after the failure of Prohibition to instead making it as difficult as possible to sell, including increasingly stringent advertising restrictions, including that making health claims are banned, even true ones. But this ad is all about the healthy nature of beer, and the necessary vitamins and foodstuffs in beer, not to mention how R&D on beer has led to other discoveries.
Mockingbird Beer Bottles
Sam Wiley, a Brooklyn-based designer and advertising artist who’s done work for Anheuser-Busch, was asked to create packaging for a brand to be called “Mocking Bird Lager” and “Mockingbird Pilsner.” I don’t know if these were done for ABI – she doesn’t say — and as far as I know, no one has launched this line of beer, so it’s anybody’s guess, but it’s a great looking design. I don’t like clear glass because it’s not good for the beer, but from a purely design point-of-view she used the clear glass and the gold of the liquid to nice effect. I like that they don’t look like typical beer bottle designs and I think as the market gets more crowded, any brand’s ability to stand out on the shelf will become increasingly important.
Beer In Ads #768: I Was Curious … By The Lake
Wednesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from probably the late 1940s. It’s part of the long-running “I was curious” series from Schlitz that typically showed three panel showing the progression from curiosity to tasting to acceptance, a sort of mini Kubler-Ross of the three states of beer tasting. In this ad, it shows two couples by a lake. Why is it that most ads depicting couples during this time period show them separated and not interacting, boys with the boys and girls with the girls?
Vintage Beer Sweaters
Christmas, of course, is the time when ugly sweaters are not only finally acceptable, but at this time of year they’re downright mandatory. Happily artist AJ Fosik began collecting and rescuing some beer-themed ugly sweaters. According to Trend Hunter, “Fosik says that all of these knits were ‘rescued from moldy basements, plucked from dingy backwaters and ripped from the backs of greasy shitleopards.'” Below, for example, is one from his collection, from Olympia Beer.
And here’s another one, for Carling Black Label.
Unfortunately, Fosik no longer maintains his Flickr gallery, where the sweater collection originally lived, but luckily the collection went viral and it still lives in that series of tubes we call the interwebs. You can see his art at the Jonathan Levine Gallery and the David B. Smith Gallery. Below is a slideshow of my Flickr gallery where I think I found most, if not all, of Fosik’s collected beer sweaters, and I even added a few others that I found along the way. To see them in their full color, full size glory, view the galley full screen by clicking the button with four arrows on it. Enjoy.
UPDATE 12.30: I just heard from an online store, Brew Town Gear, that has several of the vintage beer sweaters for sale, along with some similar satin jackets. They also have a brick and mortar store in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Stock up now for next Christmas.
UPDATE 11:11:14: Brew Town Gear is apparently now Bar Closet, and has expanded its selection and now carries “even more interesting vintage items.”
Beer In Ads #767: The Season’s Greeting
Tuesday’s Christmas ad is for Rheingold Beer, from 1943. In the ad, a woman has apparently just hung the wreath, and to hammer home the point she’s still holding it in her hand. It’s impressive how she managed to hang it in the exact spot so the tagline — The Season’s Greeting — is centered inside the wreath.
Ice Plus Beer
I tend to view the concept of ice plus beer with horror, but apparently in Japan it’s “so cool.” That’s at least the opinion of Kirin, whose uncharacteristically low-tech commercial make the case for its coolness. The verdict? The ad: pretty cool. Ice plus beer: not cool.
Beer In Ads #766: Seasons Cheer …
Monday’s Christmas Eve ad is for Arrow Beer, from 1946. It’s a simple ad, showing a glass of Arrow Beer along with a bottle in front of a wreath of holly and a candle. The ad copy couldn’t be simpler. “Seasons Cheer … from Arrow Beer.”
Libya Beer
Today in 1951, Libya gained their Independence from Italy under UN trusteeship.
Libya
Libya Breweries
- Abou Atni
- O.E.A. Drinks Company
Libya Brewery Guides
Other Guides
- CIA World Factbook
- Official Website
- U.S. Embassy
- Wikipedia
Guild: None Known
National Regulatory Agency: None
Beverage Alcohol Labeling Requirements: Not Known
Drunk Driving Laws: BAC 0.00%
- Full Name: Libya (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya)
- Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia
- Government Type: Operates under a transitional government
- Language: Arabic (official), Italian, English (all widely understood in the major cities); Berber (Nafusi, Ghadamis, Suknah, Awjilah, Tamasheq)
- Religion(s): Sunni Muslim (official) 97%, other 3%
- Capital: Tripoli (Tarabulus)
- Population: 5,613,380; 109th
- Area: 1,759,540 sq km, 17th
- Comparative Area: Slightly larger than Alaska
- National Food: Libyan Pepper Pot
- National Symbol: Pomegranate; Hawk; Star and crescent (1951–69 and since Libyan civil war)
- Affiliations: UN, African Union, Arab League
- Independence: From UN trusteeship, December 24, 1951
- Alcohol Legal: No
- Minimum Drinking Age: Total Ban
- BAC: 0.00%
- Number of Breweries: 2
- How to Say “Beer”: beereh (biræ)/ جعة / شراب من الشعير / جعة / المزر شراب نوع من الجعة / بيرة
- How to Order a Beer: Waheed beera, meen fadleek
- How to Say “Cheers”: Bismilah / Fi schettak or Fisehatak (“to your health”) / في صحتك
- Toasting Etiquette: N/A
Alcohol Consumption By Type:
- Beer: N/A
- Wine: N/A
- Spirits: N/A
Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):
- Recorded: 0.01
- Unrecorded: 0.10
- Total: 0.11
- Beer: 0.00
WHO Alcohol Data:
- Per Capita Consumption: 0.01 litres
- Alcohol Consumption Trend: Stable
- Excise Taxes: No
- Minimum Age: Illegal
- Sales Restrictions: N/A
- Advertising Restrictions: N/A
- Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: N/A
Patterns of Drinking Score: N/A
Prohibition: None
Beer In Ads #765: Still Putting The Finishing Touches On The Tree
Friday’s ad is a newer one for Carlsberg, with the tree he’s “still putting the finishing touches on” made out of Carlsberg crowns with a fill glass as tree trunk.
