Wednesday’s ad is for Hofer Löwenbräu Bock, from the 1930s. It was created by German poster artist Ludwig Hohlwein using only shades of red and blue.
Patent No. 8349378B2: Brewing Process And Brewery Installations
Today in 2013, US Patent 8348086 B2 was issued, an invention of Klaus-Karl Wasmuht and Cornelia Folz, assigned to Krones Ag, for their “Brewing Process and Brewery Installations.” Here’s the Abstract:
A brewing process including taking off a fluid having a starting temperature from a heat store; feeding the fluid to a plurality of heat consumers for releasing heat; and returning to the heat store the fluid which has a final temperature. The brewery installation has a heat store for controlling the flow of the fluid in the installation, and a plurality of heat consumers each of which is connected to the primary circuit for releasing heat. Improved efficiency is achieved in part by the final temperature of the fluid which flows out of the respective heat consumers is measured and the return of the fluid is controlled as a function of the measured final temperature.
Beer In Ads #1779: Bock Lowenbrau Munchen
Sunday’s ad is for Löwenbräu Bock, though again I’m not sure when the ad is originally from. The beer from Löwenbräu München is no longer made, and the brewery is currently owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. But it’s another beautiful ad for Bock, featuring another really cool got. It looks like I’m on a roll this week with Bock ads, just like the goat on the barrel.
First Time Craft Beer Drinker’s Slow-Motion Reactions
This reminds me quite a lot of those BuzzFeed videos my wife and kids are always showing me of people trying different national or ethnic foods for the first time, although this one is showing the reactions of various people trying different styles of beer for the first time. Each person is shown naked (or at least as far down as we can see) and we’re also shown the style they’re trying and then their reaction is shown in slow-motion. It was created by Bierdeluxe, a German online beer store. From a main page of craft beer, there’s a picture of each person representing the broad styles from the video, which has as its title “If you’ve never tasted Craft Beer, then you’ve never tasted Beer!,” and clicking on each takes you to a page where the beers they have for sale in that style are displayed for purchase. It’s an oddly effective way to shop, if a little weird on several levels, but it’s also kind of funny, displaying that German knack for knowing what’s funny and/or odd but still not being able to work out which one it really is in the end.
Beer In Ads #1588: St. Benno-Bier
Tuesday’s ad is for St. Benno-Bier, from 1913. Today’s is the feast day for St. Benno, who is a patron saint for Munich, Germany, as well as the patron of Dresden-Meissen, anglers and weavers. In 1913, Munich’s Löwenbräu brewery had a beer named for St. Benno and advertised it with this cool, but strange, poster.
The Beer Barrel Polka
76 years ago today one of the most well-known polkas, and songs about beer, The Beer Barrel Polka, reached #1 on the Billboard Pop Music Chart in 1939. It was actually written in 1927, by Czech composer Jaromír Vejvoda. It was originally an instrumental known as the Modřanská polka (“Polka of Modřany”), but in 1939, German accordionist Will Glahé renamed it “The Beer Barrel Polka” and it was his 1939 version that made it the memorable song that is still played today. After World War II, Glahé was known in America as the “Polka King.” The English lyrics were later written by Lew Brown and Wladimir Timm, both Tin Pan Alley lyricists. The song was subsequently recorded by many other bands and singers. Musicians such as the Andrews Sisters, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Liberace, the Marx Brothers, Bobby Vinton and Frankie Yankovic did their own versions, too, making it a mainstay at dances and weddings to this day.
I was unaware of this local connection, but according to Wikipedia:
At San Jose Giants home games, a batter from the opposing team is designated the “beer batter.” If the San Jose pitcher strikes out that batter, beer is half price in the beer only lines for the 15 minutes immediately following the strike out. The beer batter promotion is in effect only for the first six innings of the game. The PA system plays Beer Barrel Polka whenever the beer batter comes to the plate and after every strike during the beer batter’s at-bat (through the first six innings). After the sixth inning, the beer batter becomes the apple juice batter and if he strikes out, fans get half-priced Martinelli’s apple juice.
So here is the original version that made it a hit, as performed by Will Glahé:
Will Glahe and his orchestra in 1935, before the Beer Barrel Polka made him famous.
Beer In Ads #1554: Mr. & Mrs. Beer Glass
Wednesday’s ad is a German beer poster by famed Swiss illustrator Herbert Leupin. This is maybe the seventh or eighth work by him that I’ve featured over the years. The text on the poster, “gibt kraft und nervenruhe,” is translated by Google as “gives strength and nerve rest.” I’m sure there’s a more idiomatic and elegant translation, but you get the idea. It may be a companion poster to Beer In Ads #1158: Spendet Freude Und Harmonie, which translates as “gives pleasure and harmony.” In that one, the male glass is smiling, whereas in today’s ad it’s more of a frown. I wonder if that’s a reflection of the beer in the glass?
Urban Chestnut To Buy German Brewery
Here’s some interesting news, and a nice twist or role reversal of recent events. Florian Kuplent, the talented former Anheuser-Busch brewer, in 2011 opened the Urban Chestnut Brewery in St. Louis, after A-B was acquired by InBev. I first met Florian in Denver shortly after he’d brewed an excellent German-style hefeweizen at the Fort Collins A-B brewery. Kuplent was born in Bavaria, Germany, and also was trained as a brewer at Weihenstephan.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Urban Chestnut “has acquired the Bürgerbräu Wolnzach brewery in Wolnzach, which is about 35 miles north of Munich.” That’s right, a small craft brewery has bought a German brewery. Apparently, Bürgerbräu Wolnzach closed down around six months ago, and Klupent saw an opportunity. The Post-Dispatch explains that the “St. Louis-based company plans to brew small batches of beer at the Bavarian facility in the second quarter of 2015. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.”
Beer And Good Health, Circa 1907
Here’s another interesting historical artifact on beer and good health. This is from the Tennessee State Fair Official Souvenir Program and Guide, from 1907, advertising a talk by a German professor, Dr. P. Bauer, “demonstrating the effect of beer on the health.” It looks like his appearance was sponsored by the William Gerst Brewing Co. of Nashville, Tennessee. One insight he could be expected to give: “Solid foods often remain in the stomach a long time and retard digestion. Liquid foods, like GERST Beer, are an aid to digestion.” Oh, and there’s this subtitle. “People Who Drink Plenty of Beer Are Always Strong and Healthy.” The ad then ends with this branded tagline: “There is Good Health in every bottle of Gerst Beer.”
Beer In Ads #1158: Spendet Freude Und Harmonie
Friday’s ad is by the Swiss illustrator Herbert Leupin. The tagline, “spendet Freude und Harmonie,” translates to roughly “gives pleasure and harmony.”
