All About Beer Signs

Signs from a time when babies and bears were used to sell beer

There was a time when streets had no names and businesses and pubs existed without numerical addresses. If you were going to have a drink, you had to find a tavern sign, or failing that, an inn. It's unclear whether beer signs evolved from the images of tavern signs. Nonetheless, beer signs tell their own unique stories, sometimes even with words.

Antique beer signs

Breweriana is the word used to describe the assorted beer-related items sought for by collectors today, and antique beer signs are definitely a collector's favorite.

Antique beer sign collecting is a serious business, as evidenced by the number of breweriana sites online. For example, at Breweriana.com, which bills itself as the original beer collectables site for beer-related products from the 1950s or earlier, you can find rare old beer signs selling for upwards of $1,000.

Some of these antique beer signs are lithographs, but many of the original beer signs were actually made from tin. Tin beer signs were even being manufactured in 1930 during the days of Prohibition. Such signs sell today for several hundred dollars.

Old beer signs can also hold a great deal of interest as novelties. A tin beer sign for the Hudepohl Brewing Company's Golden Jubilee beer features an image of a baby crawling on the floor next to an overturned basket. The puppies that were in the basket are nipping at the baby's shirt and lapping up a puddle of beer on the floor that was spilled from a Golden Jubilee beer bottle right next to the baby (there's no sign in the picture of a babysitter).

Another old beer sign, this one for the Gambrinus Brewing Company, sports the slogan "Remember Pearl Harbor!" above a picture of a seated Uncle Sam violently spanking the bare red bottom of what appears to be a Japanese child.

Hamm's beer signs

On the subject of beer and children, one of the most popular beer-related icons — the Hamm's beer bear — was discontinued by Miller Brewing for fear it would be construed as advertising to minors. The Hamm's beer bear had been around for decades though, and has since become one of the favorites of breweriana collectors.

Hamm's beer signs are a niche market within the breweriana community, and websites such as HammsClub.com have been set up to bring Hamm's fans together (they even have a newsletter).

Modern beer signs

Neon beer signs have become the decoration of choice for today's drinkers, but many pub crawlers still prefer the look of metal or wooden beer signs. If $300 is too steep for an authentic tin beer sign, replicas of vintage beer signs can be found for $20 to $50.

Modern beer signs have shied away from the political statements and questionable advertising of the World War-eras, and generally feature beer names and icons, sometimes in conjunction with sports team logos.

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