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Contact Information: I have an extensive reference library of US beer labels and I sell older US labels on E-bay. In addition I write articles on Beer Label Collecting and provide research and technical support for movie sets and the like. |
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Philip Best & Co: This Export Beer Label is an example of a very early circa 1860-70’s label. The Philip Best and Co. name, a predecessor of Pabst, was only used from 1864-1873. Note the ornate graphics, generic brand name and the German spelling of the word Beer. Foss & Schneider’s: The Foss & Schneider company name was used from 1877-84. Note the red colors, oval shape and ornate graphic style which were very popular during this period. Cincinnati was a major player in the brewing industry during this era. Lemp’s Buck Beer: This label certainly features extraordinary graphics. Curiously the word buck was used in place of bock by several brewers during the 1880-90’s. I haven’t been able to get an explanation of this usage. |
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c1868 |
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c1880 |
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c1885 |
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c1870-1900 Oval St. Louis Lager’s |
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St. Louis Lager beer was popularized by both A-B and Lemp in the St. Louis market and soon spread to other states. Both breweries issued red oval labels featuring exhibition medals won at Philadelphia in 1876 and Paris in 1878. It almost looks like both claimed the same medals, however medals were awarded for several different categories. If you wanted to be successful in this market you had to have a look-a-like St. Louis Lager and many copy cats appeared. The American Brewing Association example was thought to be a blatant copy. However, the American Brewing Association of Houston was also owned by Adolphus Busch. Perhaps Aldophus had his Texas Brewery extol the virtues of his St. Louis Lager? |
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C1896 Die Cuts |
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Around 1896 several brewers adopted unique die cut designs to help combat copies and to cement brand identity in the mind of the consumer. A-B, Lemp and Blatz were among those that went this route. It really worked for brand identity. One quick glance and you knew who made it. Today those early examples are quite elusive and very desirable among collectors. The A-B die cuts are really sought after. Twelve different are known: The Muenchener, Old Burgundy, Black & Tan (Porter), The Erlanger, Faust (two variations), Michelob, White Label and four versions of Pale. Each has a matching die cut neck label that really adds to the beauty of the set. A-B dropped the die-cut shape in the early 1900’s. Lemp’s family of shield cuts included Tally, Extra Export, Tip Top, Culmbacher, Buck, Extra Pale, Standard and several versions of Falstaff. The Lemp stable of brands and the unique diecut shield gained quite a valuable reputation prior to prohibition. Blatz’s family of triangle shapes included such brand names as Private Stock, Wiener, Export, Muenchener and Dark. Blatz continued examples of their triangle shape until closing in 1958. Rights to the Blatz label then passed to Pabst, Heileman’s and presumably to Stroh’s then back to Pabst. That dark brown triangle, although superimposed on a rectangular label was still being used in the 1990’s. |
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c1912-14 (w Food & Drug, Ounces & 4% Alcohol) |
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c1918-20 (1/2% Alcohol) |
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Around 1912 labels began to show the volume in ounces and sometimes the alcohol content. Note the early contents statement used on the Pabst label pictured: Large about 24 oz’s; Small about 12 oz’s. Jacob Ruppert led a drive to get the 2.75%w alcohol level defined as nonalcoholic for prohibition sales but the dry forces would have none of it and the level of 0.5%v prevailed. Prohibition labels are characterized by the required 1/2%v alcohol statement and the absence of that 4-letter word, beer, which was strictly forbidden. Sammie, by Popel - Giller of Warsaw, IL is an example of an early prohibition era 1/2% label.. It’s unusual in that it features a World War I theme. Because WWI and prohibition were almost simultaneous little mention was made of it on beer labels. Note the terminology, Manufactured by, rather than Brewed by. How dry it was!! |
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WW-I Label, c1918-20 (2.75%w Alcohol) |
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A few brewers were licensed to produce higher alcohol beers during prohibition for medicinal purposes. These required a Doctor’s prescription, however, the Willis-Campbell Act of November 1921 put a quick end to this loophole. This example from Schlitz shows an A type permit number. This could be the first of an alphabetical list of permits types the eventually included L, H and U permits for beer type products? Again in 1924 and effort was made to offer Malt Tonic’s with 2% alcohol and 12% solids. These were intended to be sold in drug stores with doctors prescriptions. After a few months the dry’s were successful in getting the solids content raised to 18% which resulted in a syrupy product too heavy to drink as a beverage. Cereal beverages (1/2%) were also sold as tonics. Some H-permit tonic’s such as the Schlitz pictured had more the 2% alcohol. |
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Medicinal Beer and Malt Tonic’s, c1920-33 |
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Banning the word beer must have been especially irritating to the brewers. Even their slogans had to be purified. For Schlitz, The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous became first The Drink…. then finally The Brew That Made Milwaukee Famous. Pabst changed The Beer of Quality to The Brew of Quality. Three plain jane prohibition labels from Pabst Corporation are shown. Note that Pabst was one of many that dropped brewing from their company name during the dark days of prohibition. The L-type permit numbers shown on the Pabst labels date labels in the latter part of prohibition, c1928-33. |
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Bob Kay PO Box 1805 Batavia, IL 60510-6805 USA |
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Dating Pre-Pro Labels, c1860 - 1933
Paper labels were applied to beer bottles in the US as early as the 1860’s, however, labels from that period are extremely rare. In fact consider yourself lucky if you run into labels that can be placed before the turn of the century. Very early labels are characterized by very ornate printing, script and/or graphics. Brand names tended to be generic such as Export, Pilsener or just plain Bottle Beer. Dating clues and examples of very early labels follow:
c1908-14 Pure Food and Drug Act Message: Some labels carried the pure food and drug message between approximately 1908 and 1914: Guaranteed under the Food and Drugs Act June 30th 1906, Serial No. xxxx.
c1912 Ounces & percent Alcohol on labels: Around 1912 labels began to show the size of the container (oz) and the alcohol content (%) of the product. These requirements and start dates varied from state to state.
c1908-20 Early Prohibition: It’s hard to put a sharp date on the start of prohibition. It usually depends on which state you are talking about. Prohibition started in Alabama and Georgia in 1908 and by 1916-17 twenty five states were dry. Temperance beverages were sold in the dry states as early as 1908-10. By 1916 prohibition beverages no longer were called beer and cereal beverages, as they were officially referred to, had to say ’contains less than 1/2 of 1% alcohol by volume.’
1918-20 World War I Labels: In the states that were still wet, full strength beer was sold until December 1917 when the alcohol strength of all beer was limited to 2.75%w as a World War I conservation measure.
1920-33: National Prohibition started on January 16, 1920. Most big breweries with national markets had prepared to produce near beers. Anheuser-Busch introduced Bevo, it’s new nonalcoholic beverage, in 1916 and elsewhere a flood of cereal beverages were introduced during the 1917-18 period. These included such brand names as Pablo from Pabst, Famo from Schlitz, Chrismo from Christian Moerlein, LUX-O from Stroh’s, Tivoline from Tivoli-Union, Mannah from Coors and so on. These gradually replaced the real brew as the various states succumbed to prohibition and the national brewers tried to prepare for the inevitable.
1920’s-33: Medicinal Beers, Tonics and Near Beers: Permits for Medicinal Beer by prescription were approved in 1920, but quickly killed by the dry forces. Malt Tonics with H-type permits (2% alcohol and 12% solids) were available by prescription in 1924. Dry’s forced the solids content of 2% tonics to 18% (to syrupy to drink) by 1925. Tonics were usually sold in drug stores in a unique tonic-shaped bottle. Throughout prohibition a variety of malt tonic and cereal beverage products were tried but these met only limited success.
1928-33: L-Type Permits Around 1928 an L-Type permit was added to prohibition labels. Since national prohibition lasted 13 years, the L-permit serves to identify labels used in the latter half of prohibition.
Examples of Prepro and Prohibition Era Labels: |
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Dating Labels 1860-1933 |
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Dating Labels 1933+ |
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Drewrys Labelology |
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Blank |
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Dating Labels 1860-1933 |
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Dating Labels 1933+ |
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Drewrys Labelology |
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