Rock and Roll Beer

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Text on Button I Sold My Soul For Rock & Roll Beer
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Purple text on a yellow background

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"I sold My Soul For Rock & Roll" was the Slogan of Rock and Roll beer. The slogan proved to be so controversial that the beer was banned in Texas by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. The aforementioned commission said the slogan on the can was quote "false, indecent,and immoral". The beer was launched in 1982 and owned by Joe Edwards.

Catalog ID BE0128

Schlitz Beer Can

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Text on Button SCHLITZ Schlitz The Beer that made Milwaukee Famous CONTENTS 12 FLUID OZ. SCHLITZ BREWING COMPANY, MILWAUKEE WI. TAMPA FL.
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In the shape of a beer can, with a Schlitz label. White text on a red rectangle and red text on a white background.

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Schlitz dates back to 1849, when German immigrant, August Krug, began brewing beer in his Milwaukee restaurant’s basement. In 1850, twenty-year-old Joseph Schlitz immigrated to Milwaukee from Germany and was hired by Krug to handle his restaurant and brewery’s bookkeeping. After Krug passed away in 1856, Joseph Schlitz took over the brewery, renaming it the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. “The Beer that Made Milwaukee Famous” was introduced as an official slogan in 1893 at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

Catalog ID BE0047

Schmidt Brewing Company

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Text on Button SAINT PAUL POST 8 "AMERICAN LEGION INDIANS" A SPECTACULAR PRESENTATION BY SCHMIDT BREWING CO.
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Illustration of a Native American wearing a  headdress on a yellow background, with white text on a green inner ring and red text on a yellow outer ring.

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WESTERN BADGE AND NOVELTY CO. ST. PAUL, MINN. (union bug)

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Jacob Schmidt started his brewing career in Minnesota as the Brewmaster for the Theodore Hamm's Brewing Co. He left this position to become owner of the North Star Brewing Co. Under Schmidt's new leadership the small brewery would see much success and in 1899 Schimdt transferred partial ownership of his new brewery to a new corporation headed by his son in law Adolph Bremer, and Adolph's brother Otto. This corporation would later become Bremer Bank. With the new partnership the Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company was established. In 1900 the North Star Brewery would suffer a fire that would close it for good. With the new management team in place a new brewery was needed, the new firm purchased the Stahlmann Brewery form the St. Paul Brewing Co. and immediately started construction on a new Romanesque brewery incorporating parts of Stahlmann's original brewery along with it including the further excavation of the lagering cellars used in the fermentation process to create Schmidt's Lager Beer.

Catalog ID BE0057

Poth's Beer

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Text on Button Poth's Beer 1900 F.A. POTH & SONS. PHILA. PA.
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Illustration of an angel with a red dress and a cherub, with black text on blue banners, on a beige background.

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Made by The Whitehead & Hoag Co., Newark, N.J., USA. Patented  July 17, 1894; April 14, 1896; July 21, 1898

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The F.A. Poth Brewing Company, later renamed F.A. Poth & Sons, was established in 1865 by Frederick August Poth in Philadelphia, PA. The Poth Brewing Company is most well known for the brewery itself, as the building is featured in many architecture reviews. Since the former Poth Brewery's facade has some of the architectural details seen in many earlier U.S. lager breweries, it can still serve as a partial example of such architecture, much of which now only exists in pictures.

See more photos of pre- and post-prohibition beer buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.

Catalog ID BE0070

Piece

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Text on Button piece
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White text on a red background with two thick black horizontal lines and two thin white vertical lines behind a black circle with a slice missing

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Piece Brewery and Pizzeria is a restaurant bar in Chicago, Illinois that open in 2001. The restaurant is also popular for watching sports. They make classic New Haven style pizza and provide award-winning micro brews. Their brewer, Jonathan Cutler, has won twenty-six major awards since 2002. In 2006, Piece and Jonathan won the prestigious World Beer Cup Champion Small Brewpub and Brewmaster Award.

Catalog ID AD0528

Peoples Beer

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Text on Button I'M FROM OSHKOSH AND I OUGHT TO KNOW PEOPLE BEER HITS THE SPOT
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Black text on yellow background, with a black rectangle across the button with white text, and a black arrow with white text pointing to a black and white bullseye.

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The Peoples Brewing Company was founded in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1911 when Oshkosh residents, led by Joseph J. Nigl, came together to form a new business to compete with other breweries. The Peoples Brewing Company made history when it became the first brewery in the country to be owned by an African American, an event that ruffled a few feathers in Oshkosh. In 1970, the brewery was bought by Theodore Mack, a Black Milwaukeean who would make history. It had been Mack’s ambition to keep the brewery operating in Oshkosh, but to also tap into the markets in Milwaukee and Gary, Indiana. He had also hoped to score a contract with the U.S. Military to supply beer to bases. Mack received a fair amount of resistance from the residents in the Oshkosh area. The media penned him as the “Milwaukee Negro” who came to fire whites and  hire only black workers. Although Mack faced opposition, there were those who appreciated his efforts to keep the brewery running.

Catalog ID BE0039

P.B. Oh Be Jolly

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Text on Button P. B. OH BE JOLLY
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Grey background with yellow text with red outlining with a dog and a red banner

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VAN NOSTRAND'S ALE BUNKER HILL P.B. BREWERIES EST'D 1821 PAT. APRIL 14 1896 JULY 21 1896 WHITEHEAD AND HOAG CO. NEWARK N.J. 

Curl Text WHITEHEAD AND HOAG CO. NEWARK N.J.
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In 1821, John Cooper and Thomas Gould established a brewery in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. When William Van Nostrand acquired interest in 1860, he gradually expanded production and distribution.  His son, Alonzo G. Van Nostrand, originated the “P.B. Ale” (Purest and Best) brand.  In the 1890’s, Alonzo became the sole proprietor of the brewery which was now known as the Bunker Hill Brewery.  It operated until Prohibition.  In addition to P.B. Ale, the brewery also manufactured; Boston Club Lager, Bunker Hill Lager, Old Musty Ale, Owl Musty and Van Nostrand's Porter.

See more photos of pre- and post-prohibition beer buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.

Catalog ID BE0016

P.B. Bulldog

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Text on Button P. B. "OH BE JOLLY!"
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A color illustration of a bulldog with a brown, spiked collar and yellow text between two red letters on a green background. 

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VAN NOSTRAND'S ALE
BUNKER HILL BREWERIES
P.B. ESTD 1821
PAT. APRIL 14, 1896 PAT JULY 21, 1896 
THE WHITEHEAD & HOAG CO.

Curl Text THE WHITEHEAD & HOAG CO., NEWARK, N.J.
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In 1821, John Cooper and Thomas Gould established a brewery in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. When William Van Nostrand acquired interest in 1860, he gradually expanded production and distribution.  His son, Alonzo G. Van Nostrand, originated the “P.B. Ale” (Purest and Best) brand.  In the 1890’s, Alonzo became the sole proprietor of the brewery which was now known as the Bunker Hill Brewery.  It operated until Prohibition.  In addition to P.B. Ale, the brewery also manufactured; Boston Club Lager, Bunker Hill Lager, Old Musty Ale, Owl Musty and Van Nostrand's Porter.

See more photos of pre- and post-prohibition beer buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.

Catalog ID BE0017

Paragon Beer

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Text on Button DEDICATED OCT. 25, 1909 FEDERAL BLDG. CALL FOR PARAGON BEER EAST ST LOUIS, ILL
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A black and white image of a federal building between black text on a yellowed background. 

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Manufactured by ST. LOUIS BUTTON

St. Louis, Mo Pat. Aug. 8 '99

Union Bug

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The Central Brewing Company of East St. Louis, Illinois made Paragon beer. The Central Brewing Company was founded in 1901 and operated under that name until 1906, when it merged into Independent Breweries Company before being shut down by Prohibition in 1923. Once Prohibition was lifted, the company began brewing again, under the name Central Breweries. The name of the company changed several times before closing in 1949.

The East St. Louis Courthouse was dedicated on October 25, 1909 marked by an appearance of the President, William H. Taft. Other important guests at the ceremony were Vice President James S. Sherman, Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon, and several congressmen, governors, and mayors. 

Paragon beer most likely was involved in the dedication ceremony, either as a sponsor or as a vendor.

Catalog ID BE0098

Pabst Blue Ribbon City

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Text on Button Milwaukee a Blue Ribbon City
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White text on a blue, bottle cap background. 

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PHILA. BADGE CO. BUTTONS EMBLEMS
PHILA. PA. 1007 FILBERT ST. BADGES
Union Bug

Curl Text TM REG US PAT OFF PABST BREWING CO. MILWAUKEE WIS.
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Pabst Brewing Company can trace it's lineage all the way back to 1862 when Frederick Pabst married Maria Best, daughter of the founder of Best Brewing Company. Joining Best Brewing in 1863, Pabst worked with the Vice President of Best Brewery to expand, taking advantage of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire that destroyed most of the breweries in Chicago, giving the Milwaukee brewing scene a boom. In 1889 Pabst became president of Best Brewing and in 1890 changed the name to Pabst.

Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR), the hallmark of the company, was first brewed in 1893. Originally called Best Select and then Pabst Select, now it is called Pabst Blue Ribbon in homage to the blue ribbons that were tied around the bottle neck from 1882-1916.

At it's peak, Pabst sold 18 million barrels per year. By the 1980s sales began to decline until in 2001 sales were below 1 million barrels per year. Changing up the administration, the beer began to have a revival in the 2000s, many accredit this to the "hipster" movement, and their desire to avoid the mainstream.

Catalog ID BE0102