Malt and Barley

Few know Thurston J. Howell was a tennis star before the SS Minnow incident. Yes, he'd play a set or two at the club in the afternoon and then the servants would serve up the beverage that connected him with his homies back in the hood - malt liquor. One for the homies, Lovie, one for the homies...

100 Years Ago - Beer, Bread, and Prohibition

The Price of a Pint
"As far as I can make out from the papers, Bert, the breweries seem to 'ave been
'ard 'it by this blinkin' war."

In 1916, while World War I was churning the fields of Flanders into blood-soaked poppy fields, the beer-soaked pubs of England were under siege by the British parliament. In a rationing move then Prime Minister, Lloyd George, implemented the Output of Beer Act of 1916 which cut England's production of beer and raised the per-barrel duty on brewers. Since then, various people have tried to link this action with a hidden prohibition agenda, however no conclusive evidence has ever emerged. In 1916 there may have been grumblings about the rationing of beer and higher prices, but in 1919 these would erupt into civil unrest which eventually undid the Output Act.

In 1917, though, the cartoonist Captain Bruce Bairnsfather, who'd served with a machine gun regiment in France and had been mustered out of the service after suffering shell shock and hearing loss during the Second Battle of Ypres, obviously didn't feel the pains of the people. His feature character "Old Bill" puts the gripes of the brewers in prospective.

Part of me has to wonder if Samwise Gamgee's pony, Old Bill, wasn't actually a bit of J. R. R. Tolkien tipping his hat to Captain Bairnsfather since they'd both served in the trenches during the Great War.

Christmas List - Guinness

I've never heard a beer referred to as "racy". A book, yes. A movie, definitely. But not a beer. Apparently raciness isn't a quality we seek in our alcoholic refreshments any more. It apparently meant something different to the '30's consumer. I am a fan of the idea that the perfect post workout recovery drink is a stout. Then again it looks like being willing to help the misses with a mountain of packages instead of making her schlep them up the stairs alone qualifies as a workout to the '30's mind. I'm also surprised that the ad agency left chicken off the list of meals Guinness isn't a fitting accompaniment for - you've got steak, you've got lobster, you've got oysters, and then...cheese dishes? At least it makes a good nightcap if you accidentally had chicken for dinner.

Thanksgiving Dinner - Ballantine Ale

Back in the day the extended family's Thanksgiving dinner never included Ballantine, the beer of choice was something like Budweiser or Hamm's - probably the reason it took me forty years to learn to like beer. What attracted me to this 1943 Ballantine ad wasn't the beer, it actually was the "Car of the Future" the featured couple is swooning over. I want to reach back through time to tell them plastic cars aren't such a great thing. Trust me, go with steel and chrome, you'll be much happier.

Beer and Morale

Ah, another "beverage of moderation" ad from the Brewing Industry Foundation. The shock of prohibition hadn't dissipated in July of 1943 when this ad ran and it shows. Behind the typical World War II patriotism and white-wash of mom, home, and apple pie Americana there's a slight "we're still good, right?" self-checking.

Notice that the image used for this ad doesn't even show a hint of an alcoholic beverage? Nope, not even a coffee cup that could conceal a little nip of whiskey. In fact it's very Norman Rockwell with the wife looking on fondly while her husband stares adoringly at the radio. Ah, the forties, when spouses didn't speak to each other...

And who knew we probably would be speaking German right now if it wasn't for the morale-improving characteristics of beer? Yup, if the American worker wasn't half soused between shifts he just might have fallen into a lethargic depression and we know where that leads. Yup, all work and no play sinks ships...or something like that.

Sports - Defeat and Victory

One week into the NFL season and some of us already can sympathize with the sentiment of this 1941 beer ad. I don't know if defeat actually is sweeter with a beer, but I'd agree that the edge is taken off.

I believe the odd phrasing, a kindly glass of beer or ale, can be attributed to two things: the relatively recent repeal of prohibition and the rise of fascism in Europe. American brewers probably weren't too eager to tread on the smoldering coals of the temperance movement. Doubtless they feared doing so might reignite the passionate fire that drove alcohol underground.  Also, since many of America’s brewers came from Germany, they surely were aware of the frightening prospect of being linked with un-American values and goose-stepping goons. Better to cleave close to mom, apple pie, and the good ‘ol American way of life than take any chances.

In truth the United Brewers Industrial Foundation had been in existence since 1862 and like most trade organizations its chief interest was lobbying for favorable legislation and tax breaks for its members. The organization did some good, supporting the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, but its failure to recognize that the Prohibition Movement and Anti-Saloon League presented a serious threat to the sale of alcoholic beverages proved flawed and from 1920 through 1933 the sale, production, and transport of alcohol became against the law in the United States.

As a little aside, in 1941, when this ad ran, the president of the United Brewers Industrial Foundation was none other than Rudy Schaefer, the owner of Schaefer Beer.

Happy Oktoberfest!

A Reassembled Oktoberfest Snapshot from the September 1955 issue of Time Magazine

Happy Oktoberfest! Well, at least here in the Midwest.

Traditionally Oktoberfest (or Wiesn as it’s known in Germany) is held in Munich and runs from late September to the first weekend in October. At its heart, Oktoberfest is a fair but it started its long history as a wedding reception for Prince Ludwig and his bride Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. On that auspicious day in 1810, the citizens of Munich were invited to attend a celebration in the fields outside the Munich city gates. There was drinking, food, and horse racing and over the centuries Oktoberfest grew to become the celebration it is today.

So raise a stein of extra-strong beer and strike up the band, there’s a polka to dance and sausages with sauerkraut to eat tonight!

Beer - the Beverage of Moderation

I came across this beer ad while perusing the September 1955 issue of Life Magazine. It’s the sort of thing we usually see when an industry is under attack for the quality or impact of their product. Today we’re treated to television spots white washing high fructose corn syrup, fracing, and clean coal. Apparently, the brewing industry felt it needed to gussy up its image in the 50s with a bit of wholesome square-dancing. When you look at these ads you can always tell what the manufacturer is trying to hide – corn syrup isn’t natural or good for you, fracing is destroying the environment for energy that largely will be shipped overseas, and clean coal isn’t clean at all. The tag line “America’s beverage of moderation” leaves me thinking there was a push against drunkenness in the mid-50s. It probably was part of the Beaver Cleaver-izing of the nation – the push toward white-bread sameness and squelching of anything that didn’t fit neatly into the pre-drawn lines. Then again, it’s hard to argue in favor of public drunkenness, isn’t it?

 

Happy International Picnic Day!

I’m willing to bet you didn’t know that June eighteenth is International Picnic Day. At least according to web sources. Frankly it has the feeling of a fabricated holiday. All I found on the web were circular references; sites pointing to one another without ever referencing an "official source". Still, it was an opportunity to dig through Shorpy to come up with a great old photograph of a picnic, and there’s a lot to look at in this one!

This particular photo comes from 1941 and even though it was taken in October it seemed suitable for picnic day. Looking at its details I get a little nostalgic. My grandmother used to wear a turban like the one worn by the woman in the foreground. Hers were made of polyester and came in a variety of pastel colors. In fact, I hardly remember seeing my grandmother’s hair at all, for what I know she might have been bald or had a battleship tattooed on her scalp.

It’s also remarkable that the gentleman giving the camera the hairy eye is wearing a nice tie, tie-tack, and striped dress shirt. It’s a pretty remarkable time when a man would dress to sit at a picnic table eating baked beans. I say baked beans because that’s what the label on one of the cans on the ground seems to say. It’s also amazing to see the tableware, real coffee cups, plates, bowls, silverware, and glasses. Plastics were a thing of the 50’s which necessitated hauling a kitchen’s worth of plates and utensils out into the wild in a wicker hamper. My parents had a 50’s version of the picnic hamper complete with melmac plates and aluminum cups in assorted sizes and colors.

The Harvard Brewery was founding in 1898 and survived prohibition, a government takeover, and financial troubles before shuttering its doors in December of 1956. My grandparents beers of choice were Blatz and Old Milwaukee, but I remember the horrid days of the 70’s when they switched to generic beer with its ugly gray and white striped cans.

Ah, things are different now. I’m not a fan of eating in the wild, I hew to the theory even cavemen ate in a cave and we (hopefully) have evolved since then. I have to admit when I see this picture I get a soft spot for packing a hamper on a cool fall afternoon and heading out into nature’s embrace…of course then I think about the yellow jackets, flies, sunburn, and poison ivy and the spell passes.

1950 Indy 500 - The Drink of Champions, Blatz

Our first color ad comes from 1950 and, as the big day is very near, I thought I'd go with a beverage that will be consumed in quantity between the green and checkered flags - beer.

Blatz, Milwaukee’s first bottled beer…not its best, not even the middle of the road, but put in a glass container first. Myron Fohr, the gentleman wearing the grease, never led a lap in the one Indy 500 in which he raced. Looking at him he has the appearance of a guy who drives a bar stool, not a race car. He probably fit into the cockpit a little like the cork in the fifth of thunderbird he kept tucked under the seat for emergencies. And take a quick look at those nails…apparently the folks at the ad agency spent some time caking crud under Myron’s nails (or gave up on removing it out and decided to go with the dowdy grease ball look).

The small ad in the lower left is for NBC’s television adaptation of the radio show Duffy’s Tavern. The series centered around an Irish tavern in New York and the misadventures and get-rich-quick schemes of Archie, its manager. The show opening featured a rendition of When Irish Eyes are Smiling played on a tinny piano. The music always was interrupted by the ring of a telephone and Archie spinning the catch phrase “Hello, Duffy's Tavern, where the elite meet to eat. Archie the manager speakin'. Duffy ain't here—oh, hello, Duffy..." Here's a bit of the radio show.

 

And here's some of the television show.