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Ken Hartoonian calls in to Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras to talk about the Vintage Beer Show at 21st Amendment Brewery on Saturday Nov. 4 from 9am-1pm.
It is called the 39th Annual Western Regional Beer Can and Breweriana Show. Breweriana is anything brewery related. It can be a can, bottle, sign, coaster, bottle cap, neon sign or even some brewing equipment. The first show was held in Watsonville, hosted by the largest rose wholesaler in the state. They have extended the spirit of that show into an event where the public is invited to browse. A lot of brewers really appreciate brewing history. For example, there are lots of vintage beer signs at Russian River Brewing Co.
When Herlinda asks Ken about the most unusual item in his vast collection, he mentions a can of 7-Eleven beer, from 1959. It came from a long-defunct brewery in New Jersey and was only made for a short time before it was discontinued.
Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.
Why Breweriana?
Some collectors are willing to pay high prices for these items but they are not persons of average wealth. These people are just looking to diversify their assets, and some items can have demand among collectors. Some companies do keep collections of old products and labels for film productions, including beer labels.
See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options.
Musical Beer Commercials of the 1950s
To keep up the spirit of the 39th annual Western Regional Beer Can and Breweriana Show, this edition of the Brew Ha Ha podcast features three examples of beer commercials from the 1950s. First, at 0:48, a musical ad for Pabst Blue Ribbon with a chorus and jazz band, in the key of E-flat. Then, at 5:30, an ad for Blatt’s Beer, with music and singing this time in A-flat. Finally, after the end of the conversation, at 13:20, a Firesign moment followed by an ad for Valley Forge Beer. It features music in the key of G-flat, unless they wrote it out in F-sharp instead. We actually have no way of knowing which key they used, but it has to have been written out for the band and singers, one way or the other. This is a unique enharmonic moment in the universe of musical beer ads.