Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Beer In Ads #759: John Adams For Budweiser

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Friday’s ad is another in the Budweiser historical series from 1908. The black and white ad is text-heavy and includes a history lesson on John Adams, our second president and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The ad makes the curious appeal that any dealer who carries Budweiser will realize less profits than selling other beers. Why? “Because it costs more money at the brewery than any other beer made. A royal brew of malt and hops whose absolute sovereignty has never been challenged.” Interesting strategy. One other anachronistic feature of advertising a century ago. The advert ran in a publication called Pearson’s Advertiser. At the very bottom of the page it includes this gem. “You will confer a favor by mentioning PEARSON’S when you write to advertisers.”

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Beer In Ads #758: William Penn For Budweiser

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Thursday’s ad is another in the Budweiser historical series from 1908. The black and white ad is text-heavy and includes a history lesson on William Penn, who founded the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. After discussing Penn, the ad copy switches to hops. “Lupulin has created a stir in the medical world because of its great Tonic properties for stomach disorders. It is found in the highest and most effective form in Saazer Hops, grown in the province of Saaz, Bohemia. The Anheuser Busch Brewing Ass’n, St. Louis, U.S.A. import more of these hops than all other breweries in the United States, and use them exclusively in their famous Budweiser.” Anybody know if ABI still uses an Saaz — er, Saazer — hops? I know they own hopfields in the Hallertau (I’ve been to those) and also in Idaho (ditto), but in the Czech Republic?

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Beer In Ads #757: James Madison For Budweiser

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Wednesday’s ad is another in the Budweiser historical series from 1908. The black and white ad is text-heavy and includes a history lesson on James Madison, our fourth president and one of the architects of the Constitution, often referred to as the “father of the Constitution.” It ends with some terrifically jingoistic ad copy. “The drink that delights your palate and aids the digestion of your food. Drink the drink of your forefathers; the drink of the nobelst men that ever lived; the drink of the great triumphant nations; the pure, nourishing and refreshing juices of American barley fields; the home drink of all civilized nations.” Are you feeling thirty and patriotic yet?

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Beer In Ads #756: Otto Von Bismarck For Budweiser

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Tuesday’s ad is another old one for Budweiser, also from 1908. The black and white ad is text-heavy and includes a history lesson on Otto von Bismarck, though I doubt the ad would have run after World War I. This was just a few years before anti-German sentiment peaked because of the war, and so many of the successful breweries in America were started by German immigrants, and Anheuser-Busch was no exception. But they loved him. “Like all Germans he believed in good eating and drinking, hence the juices of malt and hops were never absent from his table.”

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Beer In Ads #755: George Washington For Budweiser

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Monday’s ad is an old one for Budweiser, from the 1908. The black and white ad is text-heavy and includes a history lesson on Washington, along with this beautiful ad copy. “It shines like liquid gold — it sparkles like amber dew — it quickens with life — a right lusty beer — brewed conscientiously for over fifty years from barley and hops only.” But they’re not done yet. “It prolongs youth and preserves physical charm — giving strength to muscle, mind and bone — a right royal beverage for the home.”

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Beer In Ads #754: One Of The Finer Things Of Life!

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Friday’s ad is for Schlitz, from the 1950s. Featuring a decked-out woman of leisure relaxing by the pool, appointed with fashionable digs and seemingly expensive accessories on the table in front of her and, most importantly, drinking a Schlitz. The tagline, “one of the finer things of life!,” tells you everything you need to know about why her hand is on her hip. She definitely a “have,” not one of those “have nots.”

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Beer In Ads #751: Painted Into A Corner

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Tuesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1951, showing a man who’s quite literally painted himself into a corner. But given that the title of the ad is “Situation well in hand!” I think he meant to do that, specifically so he could stop and enjoy a beer, or more, while he waited for the floor to dry. Good plan, don’t you think?

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Beer In Ads #750: George Younger’s Alloa Ales

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Monday’s ad is for George Younger’s Alloa Brewery in Scotland, from 1953. It uses a great illustration by an artist from Edinburgh identified as “MacKay,” depicting a scene from Tam O’Shanter, a poem by Robert Burns. Here’s what one source had to say about the ad:

There were at least nine breweries in Alloa during the 1900s producing a variety of ales for home and export trades. Alloa was well positioned, with a good water supply, close to local supplies of barley and good sea transport links. Alloa ale was sent to London and George Younger had an extensive export trade in the West Indies, Egypt and the Far East. Alloa was also famed for its lager, Alloa Brewery Co developing Graham’s Golden Lager in 1925 and renamed Skol in the 1950s. Closures and mergers in the 1950s and 1960s reduced the number of breweries to 2 and by 1999 there was one, The Forth Brewery.

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