With DC Beer Festival taking over Nationals’ Park last weekend (March 23-24), it provides a timely reminder of how closely intertwined baseball and beer are with one another. Back in the 1940’s and 1950’s, a New York Yankee homerun was “a Ballantine blast” in Mel Allen’s famous calls. Up in New England, it was Curt Gowdy greeting viewers with “High ... Read More »
Who doesn’t love beer. It’s Friday! This is an advertisement from the Washington Herald on Saturday, February 7th, 1914. Read More »
Here’s a weird image from the early archives of WMATA. It depicts “Halloween In Washington” but clearly stretches the bounds of reality — and Metro’s rules. Let’s face it… there’s no way a guy riding a giraffe could ever board a Metro train. We really don’t know much about this image. It was included among dozens of unlabeled pages of ... Read More »
Prohibition lasted at Griffith Stadium well past the official repeal. You may not know this, but unfortunately for Senators fans, owner Clark Griffith was a teetotaling prohibitionist. He was adamantly opposed to permitting the sale of beer in his stadium. Ugh, that sucks. Maybe that’s why the old Senators were so terrible? Well, the one good thing that came with ... Read More »
That’s a pretty good attention grabbing headline from the Washington Post. And I think this is appropriate, given the current media focus on the White House’s home brewed beer. There was even an official response by the White House regarding the current beer recipe as well as a Wikipedia page. This one was published on September 30th, 1934 about claims ... Read More »
The slow demise of Brickskeller was sad to witness. The place was full of so many fond memories. I’m sure many of you remember back when you could smoke in bars … that place was pretty nasty, but it had true character. You would spend hours sitting around the table playing a game of order the most obscure beer (and ... Read More »
Ha! How’s this for irony? Back in 1905, District authorities were fighting to ban growlers in the city, claiming that access to excessively cheap beer was damaging to society as a whole. Three interest groups, the District government, brewers and the Anti-Saloon League, not exactly seeing eye-to-eye, decided to compromise on reform and work for the collective good of the ... Read More »
Did you know Bass Ale was available in Washington back in 1911? I did not. Well, it would be only for another six years until Prohibition set in on the city. This was an advertisement I came across in the Washington Herald from Christmas Eve, 1911. I probably won’t be having one of these tonight, but chances are quite good ... Read More »
Who doesn’t like a good IPA these days? I found this simple ad for Arnold’s India Pale Ale in the Washington Times. Back in 1906, Charles Jacobsen was the owner of Arlington Bottling Company, located at 27th and K St. NW (right where Whitehurst Freeway now dumps out). Charles was a first generation American, with parents would had arrived from ... Read More »
Who wouldn’t want a doctor to prescribe them beer? What an excellent doctor, promoting the “appetizing, nourishing, strengthening, and general upbuilding results” of delicious beer. Related articles Budweiser: Palatable, Healthful, Nutritious. Instrinsically Good. (ghostsofdc.org) A Suicide and Disappearance at the National Capital Brewing Company (ghostsofdc.org) D.C. and Pabst Blue Ribbon: A Hundred Years of Love (ghostsofdc.org) Read More »
Here’s a cool advertisement for Budweiser in the Washington Times. This is from 1917 and what’s interesting, of course, is that the sale of alcoholic beverages would be banned the following year with the beginning of Prohibition. Luckily, we don’t live in such bleak times and you can now drink your beer from a Ghosts of DC stein or pint ... Read More »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington