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Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Beer In Ads #5330: Bock Beer Trade Card

August 26, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising.

Wednesday’s trade card is for Bock Beer generically, that was apparently created in Bavaria, Germany, sometime after 1850 but before 1900 or so. I think this would be considered a Victorian Trade Card, popular from the 1870s until around 1900. They were typically created via lithography, which gave them vibrant colors. Their popularity as far as I can tell was primarily in the United States, so I suspect that whoever claimed this was Bavarian was simply incorrect and seems more likely it was created here.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, Germany, History, United States

Beer In Ads #5329: Wolf-Biere Bock

August 24, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising.

Monday’s poster is for Wolf-Biere Bock, from the Brauerei Wolf, from Fuchsstadt, a town near Würzburg, which was founded in 1739 by Johann Wolf.  It was created by German poster artist Ludwig Hohlwein.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, Germany, History, Munich

Beer In Ads #5328: R & H Bock Beer

August 23, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising.

Sunday’s poster is for R & H Bock Beer, from the Rubsam & Horrmann Brewing Co., from Stapleton, a town on Staten Island, New York, which was founded in 1865. It was created in 1935 by the Gamse Lithographing Co. of Baltimore, Maryland.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Baltimore, Bock, History, Maryland, New York

Beer In Ads #5327: Bock Bier, A Oldbairisch Dirndl Un a luschdiger Bua

August 21, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising.

Friday’s poster depicts a goat, a man and a woman along with beer and food. The lithograph was created in 1884 by H. Schile & Co. of 14 & 16 Division St. in New York City. Henry Jerome Schile was born in Germany, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1851, settling in Manhattan, which is where he opened his own print company. The text at the top of the poster reads: “A Oldbairisch Dirndl Un a luschdiger Bua” which is roughly translated as “An Old Bavarian dirndl and a very funny Bua” (slang for Lederhosen). The text at the bottom is more inscrutable, “A Moas’l BocK Bier un a Sam’l dersu” which was stumped by Google translate. Anybody know?

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, History, New York, United States

Beer In Ads #5326: Bock Is The Best Medicine!

August 20, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising.

Thursday’s ad is a 1905 postcard for Bock Beer that includes an excellent recipe for enjoying the beer. It was created by German illustrator Arthur Thiele.

It’s worth breaking down the text:

On the ribbon hanging off the stein: “Stundlich a Mass!” translates as “A Maß every hour!”

Then there’s the “Recept!,” the Recipe or Prescription:

To be taken hourly:
2 liters of Bock beer,
3 radishes,
1 pickle,
2 matjes herrings.

Bock
Dr. of Beerology

The text at the bottom is also interesting:

Open wide the sluices of your throats,
Let the Bock
Flow right down.

Then your hearts and minds will feel at ease:
Bock is the best medicine!

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, Germany, History

Beer In Ads #5325: Bockbier

August 19, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising.

Wednesday’s poster is for an unspecified Bockbier. I wasn’t able to find out much about it other than it’s a chromolithograph from Germany and was most likely created in the late 19th century.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, Germany, History

Beer In Ads #5324: Hilsebein Bock Bier

August 18, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising.

Tuesday’s poster is for Hilsebein Bock, from the F.W. Hilsebein Brauerei AG, from Berlin, Germany, which was founded in 1876. It was created in the late 19th century.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, Germany, History

Beer In Ads #5324: Leiner Bock

August 17, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising.

Monday’s poster is for Leiner Bock, from the Erste Bayerische Exportbier-Brauerei, which was owned by Eg. Leiner in Förtschendorf, Bavaria, Germany, where they can trace their origins to 1558. It was created in the 1940s.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bavaria, Bock, Germany, History

Beer In Ads #5323: Weller Stark-Bock

August 16, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising.

Saturday’s poster is for Stark-Bock, from the Weller-Bräu, which was founded in Schwabach, Germany in 1701. I think it was made in the early 20th century, but I couldn’t find any precise details about it.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, Germany, History

Beer In Ads #5322: Bock! Bock! Bock!

August 15, 2026 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising.

Saturday’s poster is for Bock! Bock! Bock! It was created in 1879 by Herman Dohm, who was a lithographer, engraver and printer located in New York City.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Just For Fun Tagged With: Advertising, Bock, History, New York, United States

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