Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.
Saturday’s ad is for Doering & Marstrand Bock Beer, which was published on May 2, 1901. This ad was for the Doering-Marstrand Brewing Co. of the Mount Pleasant area of Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada, which was originally founded in 1892, though Charles Doering had been brewing in the area prior to that. This ad ran in The Daily News Advertiser of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This is n odd ad, beginning with the text, which reads “The National Drink — of Great Britain is acknowledged to be beer, and of all the beers brewed there is none that can excel the bock beer made by Doering & Marstrand.” At first glance it sounds like they’re saying there’s no British bock beer as good as their own, but I don’t think that’s what they were trying to say, though it does seem like an awkward sentence. Then there’s the illustration, again for a Canadian brewery, comparing themselves to British beer, but the woman is wearing what sure looks like an American flag dress (or top) and hat.
