THE BEGINNINGS
- Of Bavarian Brewery
THE BEGINNINGS
- Of Bavarian Brewery
ADS - From Newspapers
CHARGERS and TRAYS
For Bavarian Beer
To advertise their beer, brewers had trays and chargers produced and given to saloons and other establishments serving their beer as promotional or advertising items. The chargers were displayed on walls, while the trays were used for waiters/waitresses to cary primarily smaller glasses of beer. There were also smaller trays used for tips, that were left next to the cash register, or sometimes on tables. Thus far, only those types of trays and chargers illustrated below have been found for Bavarian Brewing Co.
PRE-PROHIBITION TRAYS & CHARGERS
c. 1900. Chargers and trays with pictures of ladies and other designs that advertised a beer were fairly common around the turn of the 20th Century. The companies that made these would sometimes furnish some examples with stock images to their customer before the printing on an order for a quantity of chargers or trays was determined and added.
Pre-Prohibition Souvenir Tip Tray
1912. This item was a souvenir for the Bavarian Brew House that was completed in 1911, but dedicated the following year. It was made by American Art Works in Coshocton, OH. This firm could make custom artwork, but also had stock images that could be selected. So, different brewers could sometimes have the tray illustration. The name of the woman is indicated to be Mildred. Unlike the serving try or chargers below, the "tip tray" was typically smaller and not normally hung. As its name implies, it was used by customers to leave tips, often at the cashier or on a serving tray. Please see Brewereiana Affeciando for more information about Am. Art Works.
Pre-Prohibition Serving Tray
C. 1910. A serving tray for Bavarian Beer before Prohibition is unusual. The one shown features the same woman that was used on a charger for Bavarian Beer, further below. In comparing a serving tray to a charger, the former was somewhat larger and meant to be displayed, whereas, the tray was usually used to serve drinks and food. This particular tray reflected a good deal of wear and use, but the image was digitally restored to reflect the way it originally appeared. Another difference between the Bavarian tray and charger are their slogans. The use of the term "Healthful and Wholesome" is uncommon on Bavarian artifacts. However, it was similar to ads and marketing materials used by Bavarian beginning several years after the 20th Century began.
Pre-Prohibition Chargers
c. 1900. A popular slogan for the Bavarian Brewing Co. as shown on the chargers below was the the saying Bavarian Beer? - Why of Course! This slogan appears to have preceded the saying in the tray above, and may have been shortly before or around 1900. Since the charger in center below has no reference to a beer or slogan, it may be a sample provided by the maker of such such items. (It was obtained from the son-in-law of Wm. Riedlin and husband of his daughter Lucia.) Chargers were commonly supplied to saloons, and also displayed in the offices or the tap room of a brewery. A couple of these chargers shown were displayed in the Bavarian Tap Room, as can be seen in the background of a photo below.
The Above Chargers Behind the
Bavarian Tap Room Bar. The photo displayed was taken around the early 1950s. Shown on the Bavarian Tap Room walls are similar chargers to those depicted above. The gentleman behind the bar is Ray Hoffman, the General Manager of Bavarian Brewing beginning in the mid 1940s for about a decade. The other men at the bar are unidentified. Note the small ball knobs on the lower right to dispense draft beer. (See Ball Knobs and Tap Room.) Click the photo for an enlarged image.
POST-PROHIBITION TRAYS
Prohibition was repealed in 1932, but Bavarian Brewing Co. didn't begin operating until 1935. They had two styles of serving trays as mentioned below, with designs that were much different than before Prohibition.
c. 1938 - 1946. Before 1946, the draft beer for Bavarian Brewing Co. was simply called Bavarian Beer. This was also one of the brands used by the brewery before Prohibition. A Post Prohibition tray for this beer is shown before WWII. The back of the tray is a dark blue like the rim, and was plain with no printing. Note that after WWII the type face for the brand was changed to an old style font and Bavarian's Old Style Beer was used instead of Bavarian Beer.
c. Late 1940s - 1956. To differentiate the name of the beer from other brewers that had a Bavarian "Type" or "Style" beer, Bavarian Brewing Co. changed the name of their brand to "Bavarian's Old Style Beer" in 1946. They also changed the print type, color and logo associated with the brand as shown on both sides of the tray below. There are at least two versions of this tray. An older version in the late 1940s and early 1950s says "Schott Ale" on the outside top edge and "Bavarian's Old Style Beer" on bottom edge. A newer version around 1953 say "...A Man's Beer ... And Hers Too! on the outside edges - both top and bottom.
