Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

By Garland Pollard for brandlandusa.com

Walters BeerMissing your old friends in the fridge? It could be that your favorite beer brand is gone. While some brands are making a comeback, other brands are still in the tank.

Fortune magazines Beth Kowitt surveyed the top 99 oldest beers in the U.S., according to manufacturer and year of establishment. They turned the list into a handy-dandy interactive list. While many great old brands that one thought might have disappeared are still around (Piels, Hamm, Pearl, Shiner Bock, Tuborg), others have gone away.

Some of the below brands had second lives as discount brews; others just disappeared. Some appear that they might have some potential to be revived, as they are still known by consumers. If any BrandlandUSA readers can help us with other missing beer brands, it would be a big help.

  1. Gettelman, founded 1854.Knickerbocker beer
  2. National Premium, 1863. This brand had a life as a discount beer. Natty Bo, they used to call it.
  3. Goebel, 1873, the 22 beer. It had a cult following with a mispronounced name that was meant to make it sound fancy. We called it Tasty Jhoe-Bell. Really, it didnt matter that it was tasty cause it was cheap!
  4. Walters, 1869. This beer company, based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, was started by Johanes (John) Walter in Spencier, Wisconsin.
  5. Wiedemann, 1890.
  6. Meister Brau, 1891.
  7. Falstaff, 1896. Liked this one. It had a mass following.
  8. Trommers, 1896.
  9. Red, White and Blue, 1899. Had a life as a discount beer too.
  10. Weber, 1903.
  11. Fox Head 400, 1936.
  12. Knickerbocker Dark Beer, 1951. This has some old New York nostalgia, and would be a perfect revival candidate, or at least a good commemorative brew for a Saks Fifth Avenue or Macys promotion. Ad courtesy website Skelzie.
  13. Billy Beer, 1977. We would rather not drink this. It is one brand we dont want back as it reminds us of Jimmy Carters Presidency.
  14. Generic Beer, 1977. Words are not enough.

Other BrandlandUSA posts on old beer and beer branding:

  • Schlitz Gusto Returns, Better Than Ever
  • Save Budweiser, Busch Family Keeps the Parks
  • By Professor Good Ales

    Mythical poster at The LTS Good for What Ales You Beer Journal. Loves good beer. Hates same old, same old. Muses that Bud and Miller might as well be brewed in urinals. Drinks lagers too, if they are complex and interesting.

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