Tuesday’s ad is for Salmenbräu Rheinfelden, from 1930. From the late 1800s until the 1980s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. I’ve been posting vintage European posters all last year, and will continue to do so in 2020. This poster was for Salmenbräu which was located in Rheinfelden, Switzerland. “It was founded in 1799 and was independent for almost two centuries until it became part of the Sibra Holding (later Cardinal) in 1971. The production facilities remained in operation until 2002, from 1991 most recently under the umbrella of the Feldschlösschen group, which also comes from Rheinfelden.” The artist who created the poster was Swiss illustrator Martin Peikert.

Thursday’s ad is for Ova Urtrüeb Urhell, from 1957. From the late 1800s until the 1970s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This poster is something of an enigma, and may not even be for a beer. It was created by Swiss artist Celestino Piatti, who also did at least two similar ads the year before for the German Brewers Association. Apart from the flower, it looks like a beer, and certainly Urhell is a common type of beer in and around Germany. Likewise, so is Urtrüeb, although it’s not quite as common. But the text at the bottom references “grape pressed like fresh” which suggests it could be a beer-colored grape juice. Piatti did other ads for the company, which I believe is Ova, for apple juice so maybe. Still, it’s an interesting ad especially compared to some of his other beer ads during the same period.

Monday’s ad is for Salvator Bier, from 1937. From the late 1800s until the 1970s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This poster is a little bit strange since it appears at first to be for Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu, which was created out of a merger of the Spaten-Brauerei and the Franziskaner-Leist-Bräu of Munich, Germany in 1922. What’s strange is that Salvator Bier is a Paulaner brand while the poster also includes Zurich and below that, Stüssihofstatt. Stüssihofstatt appears to be an old farmhouse in the Swiss canton of Uri that’s a heritage site, having been built in 1451. But there was also a Franziskaner Hotel in Zurich, and it seems more likley that’s what the poster was for, though why it also advertised Salvator Bier remains something of a mystery. So there’s a number of disparate elements here, and it’s slightly confusing, to say the least. I’m not sure who the artist was who created the poster, but his initials were L.G.

Sunday’s ad is for Braustube Hürlimann, from 1934. From the late 1800s until the 1970s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This poster was made for the Hürlimann Brewery, of Zurich, Switzerland. The brewery was founded in 1836 by Albert Hürlimann. In 1996, it was bought by Feldschlösschen, which in turn is owned by the Carlsberg Group. This one shows a smirking woman serving several glasses of a beer on a tray. I feel like there’s a story there that we’re not meant to know … but I’d certainly like to. It was created by Swiss artist Hugo Laubi.

Saturday’s ad is for Summer Bier, from 1956. From the late 1800s until the 1970s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This poster was probably made for Swiss Brewers Association, who commissioned similar posters throughout this period, but I don’t really know for certain. The poster was created by Swiss artist Paul Gusset, and he created a similar one called Bier ist Gut around the same time.

Wednesday’s ad is for Waedenswiler Excelsior-Bräu Doppel-Bock, from 1910. From the late 1800s until the 1970s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This poster was created for the Brauerei Wädenswil, located in Wädenswil, Switzerland, which is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich. It was founded around 1833, after buying the farm property seven years earlier, in 1826, and converting the distillery there to a brewery. The brewery had numerous business troubles and changed hands numerous times between then and 1990, when it closed. Two years later, a new brewery, Wädi-Brau-Huus AG, was formed to continue brewing the beer. The ad was advertising their Waedenswiler Excelsior-Bräu, a Doppel-Bock. The poster was created by Swiss artist Paul Krawutschke.

Thursday’s ad is for the Zeughauskeller Zürich, from 1937. From the late 1800s until the 1970s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This poster was made for the Zeughauskeller Zürich, which is not a brewery, but a restaurant located in Zürich, Switzerland. The building was built in 1487, and rebuilt in 1867, and the name, Zeughaus, means that at some point weapons and war equipment were stored and repaired there. The restaurant opened in 1926, and now only displays weapons, including (at least according to legend) the crossbow used by William Tell. I’m not sure who the artist was who created this poster, but his initials were K.M.