Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Beer In Ads #2392: Great Stuff This Theatre

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Thursday’s ad is for Bass Ale, from 1939. Bass Ale was one of the beers that helped push me away from the regional lagers I grew up drinking in Eastern Pennsylvania, and toward more flavorful beers. Jazz clubs in New York City in the late 1970s frequently carried Bass, and I really liked how different it tasted, compared to what I was used to. In this ad, another one from the “Great Stuff This Bass” series,” they’re also employing another regular character from this time period, “Bill Sticker,” who in this ad just hung a banner in front of a backdrop in the middle of the performance of a play in a fancy theatre. The orchestra is still playing so it’s still going on, but a few in the audience are even clapping for Bill.

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And this is the same ad reproduced many years later.

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Beer In Ads #2391: What’s Your Triangle?

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Wednesday’s ad is for Bass Ale, from the 1950s. Bass Ale was one of the beers that helped push me away from the regional lagers I grew up drinking in Eastern Pennsylvania, and toward more flavorful beers. Jazz clubs in New York City in the late 1970s frequently carried Bass, and I really liked how different it tasted, compared to what I was used to. In this ad, when Bass had two pale ales, red triangle and blue triangle (the only difference being that red was bottle-conditioned while blue was not). So they’re apparently playing a tennis match to determine which triangle is the best. Personally, I’m going to have to go with the bottle-conditioned beer.

Bass-1950s-triangle

Beer In Ads #2390: Great Stuff This Cricket

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Tuesday’s ad is for Bass Ale, from 1929. Bass Ale was one of the beers that helped push me away from the regional lagers I grew up drinking in Eastern Pennsylvania, and toward more flavorful beers. Jazz clubs in New York City in the late 1970s frequently carried Bass, and I really liked how different it tasted, compared to what I was used to. In this ad, another one from the “Great Stuff This Bass” series,” they’re also employing another regular character from this time period, “Bill Sticker,” who in this ad just laid down a banner across the pitch of a cricket field.

Bass-1929-cricket

Beer In Ads #2389: Great Stuff This Blackpool

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Monday’s ad is for Bass Ale, from 1940. Bass Ale was one of the beers that helped push me away from the regional lagers I grew up drinking in Eastern Pennsylvania, and toward more flavorful beers. Jazz clubs in New York City in the late 1970s frequently carried Bass, and I really liked how different it tasted, compared to what I was used to. In this ad, another one from the “Great Stuff This Bass” series,” they’re also employing another regular character from this time period, “Bill Sticker,” who in this ad just put up the banner around Blackpool tower.

Bass-1940-blackpool

Beer In Ads #2388: Great Stuff This Tennis

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Sunday’s ad is for Bass Ale, from 1929. Bass Ale was one of the beers that helped push me away from the regional lagers I grew up drinking in Eastern Pennsylvania, and toward more flavorful beers. Jazz clubs in New York City in the late 1970s frequently carried Bass, and I really liked how different it tasted, compared to what I was used to. In this ad, another one from the “Great Stuff This Bass” series,” they’re also employing another regular character from this time period, “Bill Sticker,” who in this ad just put up the banner across the net, which one of the players took advantage of to hit the ball past his opponent while he was distracted.

Bass-1929-tennis

Beer In Ads #2387: Great Stuff This Dancing

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Saturday’s ad is for Bass Ale, from 1953. Bass Ale was one of the beers that helped push me away from the regional lagers I grew up drinking in Eastern Pennsylvania, and toward more flavorful beers. Jazz clubs in New York City in the late 1970s frequently carried Bass, and I really liked how different it tasted, compared to what I was used to. In this ad, another one from the “Great Stuff This Bass” series,” they’re highlighting dancing, and the drinking and smoking(?) that goes with it.

Bass-1953-dancing

Beer In Ads #2386: Great Stuff This Bass

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Friday’s ad is for Bass Ale, from 1920. Bass Ale was one of the beers that helped push me away from the regional lagers I grew up drinking in Eastern Pennsylvania, and toward more flavorful beers. Jazz clubs in New York City in the late 1970s frequently carried Bass, and I really liked how different it tasted, compared to what I was used to. In this ad, Bass is simply introducing a slogan that they’d use for the next several decades, “Great Stuff This Bass.”

Bass-1920-great-stuff

Beer In Ads #2385: Health Waits On Appetite

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Thursday’s ad is from Pabst, from 1913. Many brewers made other related products besides beer, notably malt extract, to be used primarily in cooking as an ingredient in breads and desserts and even as a tonic. According to Briess, which still offers it today. “What is Malt Extract? Malt can be further processed to produce liquid or dried sweeteners called Malt Extracts.” They were essentially “the original starch- or grain-based sweetener.” Many brewers survived prohibition making malt extract, both for legal uses and for homebrewing, but Pabst was making and advertising decades before. In this ad, a couple is sitting down for a meal, while their servant waits on them. The ad wonders what good would their feast be if they didn’t have an appetite or if eating it made their stomach churn. Luckily, the regular use of Pabst Malt Extract, “overcomes dyspepsia, creates a normal, healthy desire for food — aids digestion and relieves every form of stomach trouble.”

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Beer In Ads #2384: Restless, Sleepless Nights Or Sound Refreshing Slumber?

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Wednesday’s ad is from Pabst, from 1917. Many brewers made other related products besides beer, notably malt extract, to be used primarily in cooking as an ingredient in breads and desserts and even as a tonic. According to Briess, which still offers it today. “What is Malt Extract? Malt can be further processed to produce liquid or dried sweeteners called Malt Extracts.” They were essentially “the original starch- or grain-based sweetener.” Many brewers survived prohibition making malt extract, both for legal uses and for homebrewing, but Pabst was making and advertising decades before. In this ad, with the giant headline “Restless, Sleepless Nights or Sound Refreshing Slumber?,” it again looks more like an ad for medicine than a non-alcoholic beverage. So if you’re having trouble sleeping, “the grave dangers of insomnia should not go unheeded.” Hurry up, “prompt relief is assured.” Is there anything Pabst Malt Extract couldn’t cure?

Pabst-brewing-1917-restless

Beer In Ads #2383: It Takes Nerve

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Tuesday’s ad is from Pabst, from 1914. Many brewers made other related products besides beer, notably malt extract, to be used primarily in cooking as an ingredient in breads and desserts and even as a tonic. According to Briess, which still offers it today. “What is Malt Extract? Malt can be further processed to produce liquid or dried sweeteners called Malt Extracts.” They were essentially “the original starch- or grain-based sweetener.” Many brewers survived prohibition making malt extract, both for legal uses and for homebrewing, but Pabst was making and advertising decades before. In this ad, an old biplane makes the point that you need nerve to do many things in life. But when your nerves start to fray, Pabst Malt Extract “Brnhs the Roses to Your Cheeks.”

Pabst-brewing-1914-biplane