Tuesday’s holiday ad is another one for Carling Black Label, this time from 1958, also during the “Hey, Mabel” years, but when they transitioning to “People try it … and they like it!” as a tagline. But I especially love the festive beer glass with the Christmas tree painted on it, complete with presents underneath. Happy Christmas Eve Eve.
Monday’s holiday ad is for Carling Black Label, from 1955, during the “Hey, Mabel” years. “It’s holiday time … season of good eating and good cheer.” Can’t argue with that.
Saturday’s holiday ad is for Pabst Blue Ribbon, from 1941. “Isn’t Christmas Fun?” A frazzled husband responds. “Could Be! If You’d Only Give Me A “33 to 1″ Chance!” Eventually his wife understands, and he enjoys a beer before turning into a decorating demon, prompting her to suggest he may be getting a whole case of PBRs on Christmas Day.
Friday’s holiday ad is for Blatz, from 1952. According to the ad, while many things have changed in the last century (or more), some things have remained the same, including beer and the use of predatory mistletoe. Who uses such a long ribbon to position it directly above the intended victim’s head? And is it just me, or is the ad showing the backwards slide of women’s rights? The 19th century picture depicts a couple courting, but on somewhat equal footing, sitting side by side on a couch. By contrast, the 20th century (albeit the 1950s) shows the woman standing, serving her beau, as a good woman of that decade was supposed to. I’m not sure I’d call that progress.
Thursday’s holiday ad is for Pabst Blue Ribbon, from 1935. According to the ad, during the Yuletide season “It’s time for Pabst.” Happy Holidays!
Wednesday’s ad is for Rheingold Beer, from 1943, and features Miss Rheingold from that year, Sonia Gover. Holding a hammer in her hand, she’s presumably just hung the wreath. Nice job. Was “The Season’s Greetings” already painted on the wall?
Time was when today, the Monday before Thanksgiving, was the traditional day on which Anchor’s Our Special Ale — a.k.a. their Christmas Ale — was released each year. Every year since 1975 the brewers at Anchor Brewery have brewed a distinctive and unique Christmas Ale, which is now available from early November to mid-January.
From this year’s press release:
“Every year we’ve changed our Christmas Ale. It hasn’t just been for change’s sake, though,” said Mark Carpenter, Brewmaster at Anchor Brewing Company. “For the past few years we’ve evolved the recipe to perfect a particular style of dark spiced ale and I believe we succeeded. So this year we went on a different path, exploring new possibilities and making larger changes. I’m happy to say we’re very pleased with the results. This year’s ale is aromatic with hints of citrus fruit, spices, and subtle piney hop notes. The flavor has a sarsaparilla-like sweetness with rich caramel maltiness and a pleasantly balanced back-end bitterness. The mouth feel is smooth with a full, velvety texture. The beer pairs well with rich meats, thick saucy dishes, roasted vegetables, and even your aunt’s fruitcake! We’re happy with this year’s Christmas Ale and while I don’t yet know where we’ll take it next year, we’ll continue to keep Anchor fans guessing as we do every year.”
Since ancient times, trees have symbolized the winter solstice when the earth, with its seasons, appears born anew. The tree depicted on the 2014 Christmas Ale is the Giant Sequoia. It was hand-drawn by James Stitt, who has been creating Christmas Ale labels since 1975, to look as a “Big Tree” planted in 1975 might look today.
Anchor Brewing chose the Giant Sequoia for the 40th annual Christmas Ale in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Yosemite Act. Signed into law by President Lincoln during the Civil War, it granted the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove to the State of California “for public use, resorts, and recreation.” The first such land grant in American history, it marked the beginning of the California State Parks.
Anchor first began their active support of the California State Parks when they announced in 2012 that proceeds of Anchor California Lager would benefit the California State Parks Foundation. This year’s Christmas Ale continues the celebration of one of the Golden State’s most precious institutions and its natural heritage.
Christmas Ale is a traditional “Wassail” of medieval England. In the olden days, brewers often used delicious blends of natural spices to give their Christmas ale a distinctive character. Similarly brewed, the Anchor Christmas Ale recipe remains a closely guarded secret every year. It’s always brewed using malted barley, fresh whole hops, and a true “top-fermenting” yeast. Its deep, rich color is produced by using a blend of roasted malts, carefully selected to achieve not only the deep color of this ale, but also to provide much of its distinctive malty flavor. The whole-cone hops provide a balanced back-end bitterness and subtle piney hop aroma. This is accompanied with aromas of citrus fruit and herbal spices.
Even though for the last few years, Anchor’s Christmas Ale is released in early November, I continue to observe Anchor Christmas Day on the Monday before Thanksgiving. I know I’m a sentimental old fool, but I liked that they used to wait that long to release it, even though I understand why they had to abandon it. But some things are worth waiting for. If you agree with me, please join me in drinking a glass of this year’s seasonal release tonight. Happy Anchor Christmas Day!
Friday’s ad is for Rheingold Beer, from 1946, and features Miss Rheingold from that year, Rita Daigle. In this Halloween ad, she’s lighting the jack-o-lantern that, presumably, she’s just carved, despite her dress looking immaculate. Happy Halloween!
Happy Labor Day everybody. I thought this was a good day to highlight a press release from the Beer Institute about “how one job inside a brewery supports another 45 jobs outside. From farmers to factory workers, and truck drivers to tavern owners, beer puts people to work.” It’s not just that breweries employ a lot of people — they do — but many more job are created beyond the brewery that might not exist were it not for the beer. As their research shows, for every job inside a brewery, there are 45 related jobs outside the brewery.
From the press release:
“Today we toast to the industry’s 2 million men and women who make it possible for Americans to enjoy their favorite beer,” said Jim McGreevy, Beer Institute President and CEO. “America’s preference for beer is a huge boon to the national economy and the American worker.”
According to an economic study jointly commissioned by the Beer Institute and the National Beer Wholesalers Association in 2012, U.S. brewers and beer importers are the foundation for an industry that employs more than 2 million Americans, directly and indirectly. Beer also contributed $246.6 billion to America’s economy and generated $49 billion in local, state and federal taxes.
A Beer Institute analysis showed that each job in a brewery supports other jobs in the agriculture, business and personal services, construction, finance insurance and real estate, manufacturing, retail, transportation and communication, travel and entertainment and wholesale sectors.
They also broke down the number of jobs flowing from beer for each state. Not surprisingly, California was number one, with 241,640 contributing over $34 billion into the economy. After California, Texas, Florida, New York and Illinois have the most beer-related jobs, but even in the smallest states, thousands of people are gainfully employed thanks to beer. The total number of jobs nationwide is just over 2 million with a total economic impact of almost $247 billion. To see it broken down even farther, including by state and Congressional district, check out Beer Serves America.
Happy Labor Day, the only this missing from this picture? Where are the brewers?
Wednesday’s ad is again for Schlitz, from 1958 (though parts of it are from previous years). Actually, it’s an advertising piece — a pamphlet or brochure — from their wonderful ad campaign, one of my all-time favorites, Schlitzerland. This piece, entitled “Schlitzerland, U.S.A., or how to entertain Schlitzfriends,” gives advice, along with songs, or how to throw various types of parties successfully. This is pages eighteen and nineteen, with the ninth song, “Schlitzingtime,” sung to the tune of “Jingle Bells.” The headline is “How to Schlitzcelebrate holidays, or Schlitzertainment for special occasions.” While it’s clear that this is about Christmas, notice they never mention it, being sensitive to people of all faiths decades before the “War in Christmas” was declared by the wingnuts. And I certainly love a tradition that involves hops and kissing and mistletoe.
