Thursday’s ads are for Carling Black Label, both featuring beer and cheese. The first, which appeared in Life magazine in April of 1963. Nice to see even that far back someone was putting cheese and beer together.
The second appeared in a June 1962 issue of Life, and featured a different cheese. Both are part of their series using the slogan “People like it.”
Wednesday’s ad is for the third, and last, one of Anheuser-Busch’s series of beers they marketed under the name “American Originals,” beginning in the fall of 1995. This one was Muenchener, a “Munich Style Amber.” Here’s what a press release said about it at the time:
Muenchener was first brewed in 1893 — and called “Columbian Muenchener” at the time — after Adolphus Busch challenged his brewmasters to develop the world’s best muenchener-style beer. Until then, the world’s best muenchener beers were brewed in Munich, Germany, but Busch set out to change that. His brewmasters succeeded, and Busch’s Columbian Muenchener was awarded a gold medal at the 1893 Columbian World’s Exposition in Chicago.
Muenchener is a medium-to-full bodied beer with a deep, copper color. It possesses a rich, creamy and roasted malt flavor, and its aroma is malty, with a light roast and spice characteristic.
“In brewing Muenchener, we use five varieties of malt, including Munich-style malt and other roasted barley malts, as well as a blend of seven domestic and imported hops,” Kahn said.
Tuesday’s ad is for another one of Anheuser-Busch’s series of beers they marketed under the name “American Originals,” beginning in the fall of 1995. This one was Black & Tan, a “Porter.” Here’s what a press release said about it at the time:
Adolphus Busch’s Black and Tan was first brewed in 1899 as an American porter, and was particularly popular on draught in saloons. Black and Tan is a full-bodied porter with a bit more malt to soften the flavor, and it has a deep reddish-brown color. It is a hearty, rich and dark ale that features taste characteristics of roasted malt, chocolate and coffee. Its aroma combines roasted malt, chocolate, fruity and slightly floral characteristics.
Black and Tan is brewed using a true English ale yeast, a blend of chocolate, caramel and two other varieties of roasted malt, and a combination of Washington State hops and imported hops.
“Black and Tan is a very hearty, rich, and dark beer that is a perfect complement to foods of a similar nature, such as meat stews, chilis and strong chocolate-flavored desserts,” Kahn said.
Monday’s ad is for one of Anheuser-Busch’s series of beers they marketed under the name “American Originals,” beginning in the fall of 1995. This one was Faust, a “Devilish All-Malt Lager.” Here’s what a press release said about it at the time:
Faust was first brewed in 1885 by Adolphus Busch for his good friend Tony Faust to serve at Faust’s renowned St. Louis Oyster House and Restaurant. The brand was initially sold only in Faust’s restaurant, but it became so popular that it was made available on a much wider basis in subsequent years.
“Faust is an all-malt lager that is brewed using only the richest two-row, dry-roasted barley and a blend of distinctive imported Bohemian and Washington State hops,” said Dan Kahn, the Anheuser-Busch brewmaster responsible for American Originals’ development.
Our 66th Guinness ad is an odd one, obviously from a time when sensitivities toward Native Americans weren’t particularly high. That cringeworthy tagline “— Him Strong,” while obviously referring to Guinness, nonetheless seems wrong by today’s standards. And it’s not helped by the iconic Toucan wearing the headdress with the slogan “See What Big Chief Toucan Can Do.” Still, it was a different time.
Friday’s ad is for Stroh’s and shows two couples at an idyllic lakeside spot enjoying a picnic lunch. But it wasn’t quite right, not until one of them showed up with a case of Stroh’s, “America’s Only Fire Brewed Beer.”
Thursday’s ad is also from 1983, but is for Miller Brewing. The ad welcomes us to “Miller Time” and features a bearded man in a plaid shirt (at first I thought he might be a lumberjack, but alas it doesn’t look like flannel) holding six bottles of Miller High Life in both hands, that is three bottles per hand. That’s a pretty impressive feat, especially when you consider he’s holding them in such a way that every label is facing us.
Wednesday’s ad is a relatively new ad, from 1983. It’s for the Dutch beer Grolsch, showing six-packs growing out of the national flower of the Netherlands: tulips. Clearly, I’m buying the wrong bulbs.
Tuesday’s ad is a Schlitz ad, and though it looks older, at least to me, it’s from 1955. With a boastful tagline. “World’s Most Famous Taste In Beer.” I love the illustration of the sophisticated woman in a big black hat, thick red lips and those big blue eyes staring back at us, pilsner glass in hand.
Monday’s ad is for an old French brewery, Brasserie de Gallia. The original brewery was founded before 1878 but rechristened New Gallia in 1890, when it moved to Paris. It struggled after World War 2, and eventually closed in 1968. But last year it was relaunched as Gallia Paris. I’m not sure when the ad is from, but 1950s or before seems like a safe bet.
