Tuesday’s ad is a third Schlitz ad from 1954, and it’s very similar to the last two Schlitz ads. It also uses the slogan “If you like beer you’ll love Schlitz,” though this time a really, really happy-looking man with a huge smile — most likely a grocery clerk — is holding a six-pack of Schlitz cans as if to hand them off to a waiting customer. He looks a little bit like a very young, though slightly less skinny, Frank Sinatra.
Monday’s ad is a second Schlitz ad from 1954, and it’s very similar to Friday’s Schlitz ad. It also uses the slogan “If you like beer you’ll love Schlitz,” though this time the woman hostess in the ad is dressed more casually and appears to be standing over a metal bucket filled with ice and bottles of beer.
Our 89th Guinness shows the opposite of last week’s sun beating down on a smiling pint of Guinness. In this case, it’s a full moon. The tagline is the usual “Guinness is good for you,” but the real gem is the poem:
Chuckle, chuckle, through the night,
You are such a cheerful sight
Up above the world so high,
Like a Guinness in the sky.
Friday’s ad is from 1954, and is for Schlitz. With a slogan of “If you like beer you’ll love Schlitz,” the woman in the ad is dressed to the nines in a green cocktail dress. Behind her there appears to be a party going on. Two odd comments, though. First, aren’t those flowers in the right foreground lilies? And aren’t lilies for funerals? Second, what the hell is on that food tray on the table. It looks like a giant cheeseball with olives and cocktail weenies sticking out of it.
Thursday’s ad is from 1954, and is for Ballantine Ale. Three men, dressed in colors that would seem more at home in the 1970s than the 50s, share a beer on a veranda with a coastal view. Apparently one of them says to the other. “Is this something special?” To which the reply is. “It certainly is … that’s Ballantine Ale … the light ale millions prefer.”
Wednesday’s ad is from 1954, and is for Ballantine Ale. With the slogan “Where hospitality is a fine art it’s Ballantine Ale 4 to 1, I can’t help but think the art they’re using to illustrate that point could have been better. Ah, well, I guess everybody’s an art critic.
Tuesday’s ad is from 1959, and is for Schaefer, when they were playing around — pun intended — with their round logo with the slogan “What d’ya hear in the best of circles.” Showing a round plate, a round hamburger and the round top of a beer can, it’s “Schaefer all around!”
Monday’s ad is from 1957, and is for Budweiser, from their “Where There’s Life … There’s Bud” series. The woman playing cards has at least a king of hearts but she’s more interested in watching the beer being poured over her Ray-Bans to worry about concealing her cards. It is a nice looking pour, but doesn’t it look like if he doesn’t stop right now — and it doesn’t look the bottle’s anywhere near empty — it going to start pouring over the edge of the glass.
While doing some searching yesterday for beer pioneers, I found once more the book of photographs by David Bjorkman entitled MICROBREWERS: 1981-1996: A Photo History. Bjorkman co-founded New Brewer magazine, which is today the in house trade publication for the Brewers Association. The book came out a couple of years ago, self-published as a blurb book by Bjorkman, and I bought a copy right after I got a press release about it.
It’s filled with great black and white photographs of the very early days of craft beer and includes a lot of folks still making great beer today. Here’s how the book is described at the website:
In this homage to American microbrewers, international photojournalist David Bjorkman has created a photo gallery of brewers and breweries from 1981 to 1996. This collection of rare photos captures the early years of specialty brewing as the industry began its meteoric rise into the hearts of admiring beer-lovers nationwide.
Those were heady years filled with the pure joy of brewing. Brewers with big dreams opened their microbreweries, brewpubs and contract brewing companies on shoestring budgets, and succeeded in establishing their unique place in the history of American brewing. “Hand-crafted,” “fresh,” “flavorful” were how they described their beers, and it was the start of something special.
David’s photos document the pioneers and players who came to brewing from different backgrounds and disciplines, but who all had a passion for beer. Some became industry leaders, with their names, faces and beers known to beer-connoisseurs across the nation. Some shot to fame, but for lack of money or know-how fell into history. But all were dynamic and visionary, intense and driven to give beer their best.
Here are photos of the first microbrewers in the United States; of early Great American Beer Festivals; of Batch #176 being brewed at the Widmer Brewing Co.; of the Mendocino Brewing Co. team; and of hundreds of brewers across the country.
These photos provide a veritable “who’s who” of the early microbrewing industry, a history worthy of a place on every beer-lovers book shelf.
Below is a photo-collage video of many of the photos from the book. How many people can you identify?
Our 88th Guinness shows the sun beating down on a smiling pint of Guinness. With the long slogan, “When the sun says “Morning gone” Guinness Time will spur you on.” Makes me thirsty, just looking at it.
