Monday’s ad is for Miller High Life, showing the “new look” bottles in a champagne bucket filled with ice. Fancy, right? It may be I’m so used to High Life being a subpremium that nothing can persuade me to see it as a high end beer. Oh, and the new look? “Now it’s labelled in foil!”
Our 112th Guinness ad is a rough draft for an ad by John Gilroy, one that I’ve never seen in its finished form. Since it shows the Brooklyn Bridge, I assume it was done when Guinness introduced draught beer to the United States, whenever that was.
Friday’s ad is another older Ballantine Ale ad, with an illustration by J.W. Wilkinson. He was active beginning in 19-teens, and most prolific in the 30s and 40s so that’s my guess for when the ad originally ran. The man in the white suit looks a little Will Roger-esque, but of course could just be anyone from that time period.
Today I had a great experience that’s been a few months in the making. Last October, one of my newspaper columns was about the 35th anniversary of the date in 1976 when New Albion Brewery, the first modern microbrewery built from scratch, was incorporated by Jack McAuliffe. A homebrewer and beer collector in San Jose, Ed Davis, read my piece in the San Jose Mercury News and contacted me with an intriguing proposal. He had some full bottles of New Albion beer — Ale, Porter and Stout — and did I know anyone who might be interested in them? Obviously, I knew at least one person — me! — and I suggested that it might be fun to open them with Don Barkley, who would been involved in their creation, since he had been the assistant brewer there. Finding a day we were all available took some time, but today Ed and I traveled to Napa to Napa Smith Brewery and met with Don Barkley, who’s now the brewmaster there. But in addition to working at New Albion, Don also founded Mendocino Brewing during his illustrious career, before building and running the new Napa brewery.
Ed told me he’d bought the beers originally at Beltramo’s around 1979 and they’ve been stored in his garage ever since. While they were stored at a slightly higher than cellar temperature, the temperature was relatively consistent and they hadn’t been moved in all that time.
Ed brought one bottle each of Stout, Ale and Porter.
Don Barkley, me and Ed Davis each with a 1979 bottle of New Albion beer, that Ed was kind enough to donate to the cause.
Each of the three beers and their bottles.
Below is a short video (about 14 minutes) of the three of us opening and tasting the three beers.
After the tasting, Don, Napa Smith lead brewer Michael Payne, me and Ed.
In addition to the New Albion beers, Ed also brought a few additional treats, too.
A bottle of DeBakker Porter. DeBakker was a short-lived brewery (1980-82, I believe) that was located in my hometown of Novato, California and was started by a fireman, Tom DeBakker, who had been a homebrewer for about a decade before he opened the brewery.
Ed also brought a run of old Anchor Christmas Ale, 1978, 1980 through 1985, 1991 and 1996.
What a great way to spend a Friday afternoon! I wish all my Fridays could be as enjoyable. The DeBakker porter also held up quite well, it still had a fair amount of carbonation with chocolate notes. The Anchor beers were a mixed bag, some were still terrific, others were past their prime though none were strictly speaking undrinkable. Some of the spicier ones were still showing those spices, though a few of the earlier ones were oxidized, at least a little. The real surprise, of course, was how well the New Albion beers had held up after 33 years. They were bottle-conditioned, which probably helped, but still I expected them to be in worse shape than they were. I think we all thought that, but we were pleasantly surprised. I could stand to be surprised like that more often. Thanks, Ed, for being able to not open those beers for over thirty years and for sharing them with us today. It was like opening and tasting a piece of history.
Thursday’s ad is for Falls City beer, a Louisville, Kentucky brand that was founded in 1905 that lasted until 1978. This is the second somewhat surreal ad for this brewery, the first was Falls City Gives You More. Like that first one, they seem to favor ads that rhyme, too. The ad copy is “Two Big Reasons Why Fall City is the Beer to Buy.” And the two reasons? They’re class, as well. “* Pasteurized * Bitter-free.” The big face in the foreground looks out of perspective somehow; it looks too big, too in your face.
Wednesday’s ad is for Ballantine Ale from, I’m guessing, the later 40s or early 50s. Showing a couple dressed up in their finest haute couture, the woman in a stunning blue cocktail dress and the gentleman in a tuxedo with tails. They’re toasting something pretty important by the looks of it, the confetti at their feet suggesting possibly New Year’s Eve. But it’s not champagne in their glasses, but Ballantine Ale. Because, according to the tagline; “Ballantine Ale begins where other brews leave off … in flavor … in satisfaction!” I also love the throwaway line toward the bottom. “The LIGHT ale that’s strong on flavor.”
Tuesday’s ad is for Carling’s Red Cap Ale. I’m not sure of the year the ad ran, but there is a clue at the bottom. It says that for 109 years it was made in Canada but as of the date of the ad was being made in the U.S. It’s a great illustration and I’m assuming it ran in the fall, sometime during football season, since the only element in the ad is the generic “Go Team!” football badge in blue and gold and some ticket stubs, presumably from the game.
Monday’s ad is for an old Pabst brand, Andeker Beer, also referred to as “Andeker of America.” It’s from 1972 and refers to itself as “The Beer Supreme.” The tagline is great: “A Great Nation’s Greatest Beer.” The painting shown in the ad is by George Caleb Bingham. The ad says the title is Pioneers Crossing the Cumberland Gap, but it’s usually referred to as Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap.
Anchor Brewing today posted a new video about the history of California Lager, and their new Zymaster series which attempts to recreate the beer brewed by Boca Brewing in the 1870s. You can read more about that history on their blog, too, in Part 1 and Part 2.
Our 111th Guinness ad is by John Gilroy, showing the iconic zookeeper simply raising a Guinness in toast, which seemed appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day.
