Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Beer In Ads #670: Step Back A Hundred Years And More

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Friday’s ad is for Ballantine Ale, from 1947. It’s from their late-40s diorama series, this one showing the most likely apocryphal origin of the Ballantine logo, told in a poem:

Step back a hundred years and more,
     And take your place inside yon door.

That’s Peter Ballantine at the table,
     A brewer from Scotland, skilled and able.

He’s testing his ale — and now you’ll see
     How the 3-ring trade mark came to be.

One healthy drink, “Aye lads,” says he,
     “This ale o’ mine ha ‘PUR-R-RITY!”

A second drink of his fine old brew,
     “Ah,” he declares, “It ha’ BODY, too!”

A third drink now, see him slowly savor,
     “An’ sur-r-rely,” he says,
               “It ha’ FLAVOR-R-R!”

The spying 3 rings on the table dark,
     “Lads,” cries Peter,
               “I ha’ my mar-r-rk.”

That would have been 1840. Ah, to be a fly on the wall.

Ballantine-1947-peter

Beer In Ads #668: Some Things Can’t Be Hurried …

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Wednesday’s ad is for Ruppert beer — which is “the ‘slow-aged’ beer!” It’s from 1947 and shows a simple cartoon of an apparently long-winded speech that is going on and on, causing one listener to nod off and the other to check his watch. Like Ruppert, they’re in no rush. The claim that “Ruppert beer is aged s-l-o-w-l-y” is a curious one. Ignoring relativity, I’m pretty sure time is a constant, at least on planet beer, and the beer can’t age any slower or faster than the clock runs. You can age it for a shorter amount of time, or a longer amount of time, but that’s a different kettle of isinglass.

Ruppert-1947

Beer In Ads #667: Nationally Famous For Good Taste

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Tuesday’s ad is for Goebel beer, from 1951. Having just been through California gold country, the mining illustration, by George Shephard, was fun to see, though I’m not sure I see the connection to the text, “Nationally famous for good taste.” But the real gem is the claim just below the beer’s name in the inset box, “it’s Mello-ized.” I want to find more drinks that have been Mello-ized. That just has to be a good thing.

Goebel-1951-George-Shepherd

Beer In Ads #663: For Real Enjoyment …

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Wednesday’s ad is for Schaefer from 1957. It’s a clever one, showing a bottle of Schaefer Beer with a beer glass perpendicular with the text “For real enjoyment … turn this ad slowly to the right.” So if you did, the beer would pour out of the bottle and into the glass. I love the other tagline. “Schaefer beer it’s Real beer!”

Schaefer-1957

Beer In Ads #662: Rheingold Horsing Around

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Tuesday’s ad is another one for Rheingold Beer, this one from 1957, featuring Miss Rheingold for that year, Margie McNally. In this ad, she’s riding a horse out west on what looks like a cattle drive perhaps. But at least she’s got her spare horse carrying a couple cases of beer. Sure, they’re going to be warm, but maybe she can find an ice machine or cool cave.

Rheingold-1957-horses

Beer In Ads #661: You Wouldn’t Think It Possible!

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Monday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1945. It’s a surreal ad, with a little magic role reversal. Instead of the magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat, a giant bunny, wearing a tuxedo, has pulled the magician out of his top hat, though at least he has a bottle of Schlitz in his hand, too. I imagine the magician is thinking he’s probably had quite enough to drink if he’s seeing scary giant rabbits.

Schlitz-1945-magic