Brookston Beer Bulletin

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Beer In Ads #1031: That’s Hedy Lamarr

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Friday’s ad is for Schaefer, from 1948. If you’re a fan of “Blazing Saddles,” you’ll recall that Harvey Korman’s character was “Hedley Lamarr,” and in the film everybody kept calling him “Hedy” enough that he was always correcting them in an exasperating way. After a conversation with Governor William J. Le Petomane (played by director/writer Mel Brooks), Hedley corrects him. “It’s not Hedy, it’s Hedley. Hedley Lamarr.” Brooks replies. “What the hell are you worried about? This is 1874. You’ll be able to sue “her.” Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-born actress who came to Hollywood in 1936. A few years later she patented a “Secret Communication System,” for a process known as “frequency hopping,” but which today is more often known as “spread spectrum” and is used now to make mobile phones and the internet work, specifically “Bluetooth, COFDM (used in Wi-Fi network connections), and CDMA (used in some cordless and wireless telephones).” But in the 1940s, she also did ads for Schaefer beer.

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Beer In Ads #1030: Lighten The Fun!

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Thursday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1956. It was a Thanksgiving ad for Schlitz, starting with the ad copy “Lighten the Fun!” And how do we lighten the fun, you may be wondering. Well, “For Thanksgiving … add Schlitz!” Of course, why didn’t I think of that? Hmm, I also wonder what whoever wins the wishbone will wish for? Happy Thanksgiving.

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Beer At The Thanksgiving Table

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Thirty years ago, in November 1983, Michael Jackson wrote an article for the Washington Post entitled “Beer at the Thanksgiving Table.” It was subtitled “Wine is acceptable for this annual feast, but what if you prefer beer?” It was apparently one of his first pieces on the topic of pairing beer and food.

The article contains one of my favorite quotes by Michael:

To give thanks is a matter of joy; should that be confined by excessive sobriety? Better still, Thanksgiving is an annual opportunity to refresh old friendships and make new ones, in which matter both the ritual and effect of a shared glass is the best tie.

When you consider this was written when Sierra Nevada was still a very small brewery, New Albion had just closed and Mendocino Brewing had only been founded the same year, it’s a remarkable time piece. Nobody was even thinking about pairing beer with food yet. Now we take it for granted. But back then most people still needed convincing. This is great reminder of how far we’ve come and how much of debt of thanks we owe to Michael.

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Here’s Michael’s suggested general pairing suggestions from thirty years ago:

As an aperitif: Dry, hoppy beers with some bitterness. Try New Amsterdam (from New York) or Anchor Steam (San Francisco).

With fish: Pilsners. Almost all of the well-known American beers are loosely of this style. So are the best-known imported brands, like Heineken and Carlsberg. Czech and German Pilsners tend to be drier, and therefore go especially well with the more oily varieties of fish.

Shellfish: Dry stouts or porters.

Smoked meats, sausages: If you can find it, the smoked Rauchbier of Bamberg, Germany. Or a German altbier or weizenbeier.

Pasta: The less spicy pasta dishes of Northern Italy go quite well with the Munich Dark type of beer. It is, after all, commonly served with the admittedly-heavier noodle dishes of Germany.

Fowl: Munich Light with turkey; perhaps the slightly less sweet Dortmunder style might go better with chicken.

Red Meat: English Pale Ale.

Game: Scottish ale, which is heavier.

But take the time to go back and read the entire article. And give thanks that nobody looks at you funny when you bring beer to the Thanksgiving meal. As is my personal tradition, I’m enjoying some Anchor Christmas Ale with my meal, something I’ve been doing for roughly twenty-five years. Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Color Beer Guy

Beer In Ads #1029: How The American Turkey Captured France

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Wednesday’s ad is for Budweiser, from November 1948. Part of their “Great Contributions to Good Taste” series, according to the story, it was poor French peasants who discovered that turkeys could be raised and eaten and they became wildly popular there, when news travelled back to the colonies and the rest, as they say, is history. Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow,

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Beer In Ads #1028: Blatz, Brewer Of Better Beer

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Tuesday’s ad is for Blatz, from 1946. Showing a wax seal having just been applied to a document, and the stamp itself, the ad includes the following ad copy. “Public approval is never won forever … It’s seal must be earned anew by every batch you brew.” And at the bottom: “Blatz, Brewer of Better Beer ….”

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Beer In Ads #1027: Beer Is As Old As History

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Monday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1947. With the tagline “Beer Is As Old As History,” the ad shows scenes from the beginning of civilization to the the present, with select points of history in between. I actually have an original copy of the ad framed in my office. It’s a pretty grandiose ad, especially with the conceit of the Budweiser and glass as the suggested result of all that history.

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Beer In Ads #1026: A Guinness Guide To Veal

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Friday’s ad is still another one for Guinness, this one from 1958, designed to look more like content than an ad. Instead, it’s “A Guinness Guide to Veal on the Menu,” with quite the impressive looking presentation. But again, at least there’s a dish of French Fries on the side, making it, once more, my kind of meal.

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Beer In Ads #1025: A Guinness Guide To Sole

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Thursday’s ad is another one for Guinness, also from 1957, and was designed to look more like content than an ad. Instead, it’s “A Guinness Guide to Sole on the Menu,” with the flatfish in the photo. Really, with the French Fries as a side dish, it’s really more of an upscale fish and chips. Again, my kind of meal, apart from the fish.

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