Hanley's Ale and Lager

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Text on Button Everyone's saying: "HAND ME HANLEY'S" ALE & LAGER
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A blue illustration of a bulldog puppy sits above blue and red text on a white background. 

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(union bug)

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In 1861, James Hanley was an established wholesale dealer, importing, wholesaling, and distributing foreign and domestic liquors as well as wines, whiskeys, and cigars in Providence, Rhode Island.  It started as a liquor store with his brother Thomas and quickly became a series of breweries or possibly a single brewery with a series of name changes including Cooney & Hanley Brewers, the Silver Spring Brewery, the Rhode Island Brewery, the American Brewing Co., the James Hanley Brewing Co., and the Providence Brewing Company.  In any case, James Hanley had a hand in a lucrative business both producing and selling at the second largest brewery in Rhode Island at the time.

Catalog ID BE0099

Hamm's Big Beer Brotherhood

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Text on Button THE BEAR FOR PRESIDENT Hamm's big beer brotherhood
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Illustration of the Hamm's bear with a blue half-circle background on top of a red rectangle with white text. Red text on a white background along the top of the button, blue text on a white background along the bottom of the button.

Curl Text Theodore Hamm Company, St. Paul, Minn., Los Angeles, San Francisco union bug
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The Theodore Hamm Brewing Company was established in 1865 when Theodore Hamm, a German immigrant, inherited the Excelsior Brewery from his friend and business associate, A. F. Keller in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Hamm's bear was incorporated into the first campaign produced by the Campbell Mithun advertising agency, which sought to emphasize the supposedly superior cleanliness and naturality of Hamm's beer owing to its clear water and production in pristine Minnesota, the "enchanted Northland". The first television commercial depicted animated beavers beating their tails to the tom-tom beat of the jingle, as well as live action shots of the forests and lakes of the "enchanted Northland". The second, produced in 1952, introduced the clumsy dancing black-and-white cartoon "Beer Bear," actually named "Sascha," which proved so popular it was used for the next three decades. The "Beer Bear" and other woodland creatures were seen many afternoons as Hamm's was the beer sponsor of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and Minnesota Twins in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Catalog ID BE0036

Hamm It Up T.G.I.F.

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Text on Button T.G.I.F. (THANK GOODNESS IT'S FRIDAY) Hamm it up!
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White text on blue background on top, with small blue text underneath. Red text on white background.

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The Theodore Hamm Brewing Company was established in 1865 when Theodore Hamm, a German immigrant, inherited the Excelsior Brewery from his friend and business associate, A. F. Keller in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Hamm's brewery in San Francisco opened in 1954. Its 20-by-80 foot sign, with a three-dimensional 13-foot beer chalice on top, appeared in the first Dirty Harry film and was a local landmark. In the early 1980s, the beer vats were first squatted and then rented out to punk rock bands. Known as "The Vats", the brewery was a center of San Francisco punk rock culture with about 200 bands using individual vats as music studios.

Catalog ID BE0035

Hamm It Up Tonight

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Text on Button TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT Hamm it up!
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White text on a blue background, with a white moon with a face. Red text on a white background.

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The Theodore Hamm Brewing Company was established in 1865 when Theodore Hamm, a German immigrant, inherited the Excelsior Brewery from his friend and business associate, A. F. Keller in St. Paul, Minnesota. Hamm hired Christopher Figg to be his masterbrewer, and by the 1880s the Hamm Brewing Company was the second largest in Minnesota. In 1968 the company was acquired by Heublein, which sold it to Olympia Brewing Company. Pabst then purchased Olympia along with Hamm's in 1983. Miller Brewing acquired the brand in 1999. While Hamm's is no longer an independent brewing company, it is still sold in select markets under the Hamm's brand and label.

Catalog ID BE0034

Hamm It Up Somebody's Birthday

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Text on Button IT'S GOT TO BE SOMEBODY'S BIRTHDAY Hamm it up!
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Blue and red text on a white background with blue and red balloons. White text on a red background.

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The Theodore Hamm Brewing Company was established in 1865 when Theodore Hamm, a German immigrant, inherited the Excelsior Brewery from his friend and business associate, A. F. Keller in St. Paul, Minnesota. Hamm Brewing is most famous not for the company's beverages, but for its advertising jingle and its mascot, the Hamm's Beer bear. The original jingle, with lyrics by Nelle Richmond Eberhart and music by Charles Wakefield Cadman was derived from a 1909 art song entitled "From The Land of Sky-Blue Water." It was first used on radio and later on television. It started with tom-tom drums, then a chorus intoned:

From the Land of Sky Blue Waters,
From the land of pines' lofty balsams,
Comes the beer refreshing,
Hamm's the beer refreshing.

Catalog ID BE0041

Guzzler

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Text on Button GUZZLER
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White text on a horizontal blue stripe on a white background. 

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The origin of this button is unknown, however the term “guzzler” is often used in the context of drinking beer or in reference to cars that use a lot of gasoline. To guzzle means to consume an excessive amount of liquid.

Catalog ID BE0104

Gold Seal Beer

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Text on Button BOOSTER FOR MUTUAL BREWING CO. INC gold seal BEER
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Blue and white text sits on a gold seal encircled by a red border featuring white text. 

Curl Text Union Bug
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Elmer Edward Lloyd Hemrich founded Elmer E. Hemrich's Brewery, Inc. and established headquarters in Tacoma, Washington in 1935. Though they didn’t produce the beer, they distributed beers under their “Gold Seal Brands” label which were actually brewed and bottled by breweries under contract. Gold Seal beer was originally brewed by several breweries, including one in San Francisco. Hemrich changed the name of the company to Gold Seal Breweries, Inc. in 1936 and it stayed in operation until 1940. At some point, brothers George and Elmer Williams, who owned the Mutual Brewing Company, Inc. located in Ellensburg, Washington, purchased the rights to Gold Seal Beer after the closing of Hemrich’s breweries. The Mutual Brewing Company had five breweries in operation, and manufactured beer from 1937 to 1943. 

A booster is someone who supports a cause, sports team, or organization. In this case, a person who supports the brewing, and most likely the consumption, of Gold Seal Beer.

Catalog ID BE0100

Goetz Country Club Beer

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Text on Button HONOR ROLL DEALER Goetz COUNTRY CLUB BEER
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White text on a red background and white text on a blue background.

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In 1961 the Pearl Brewing Company officially purchased the M. K. Goetz Brewing Company. Overall the merger of the two companies was a success. Beers from both companies began to see production at the two facilities. Goetz brewed all of the Pearl beers for easier distribution in the north, and Pearl produced Goetz’s Country Club malt liquor. Country Club proved very successful for Pearl, and in fact is the only Goetz beer still in production by Pabst today under the Pearl Brewing Company name.

Catalog ID BE0058

Genesee Beer and Ale

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Text on Button GENESEE BEER & ALE ST. PATRICK'S DAY '86
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Green and black text in a white oval with black outline, with a green clover on each side, above white text on a green banner.

Curl Text MADE IN U.S.A.
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The Aqueduct Spring Brewery was the first brewery located in Rochester, New York when it opened in 1819. In 1878, the brewery was sold and renamed as the Genesee Brewery. In 1932, after the repeal of Prohibition, the company reopened as the Genesee Brewing Company. Genesee Beer first appeared in 1878 and grew in popularity over the years. Genesee Cream Ale, also known commonly as Genny Cream Ale among people in Western New York where Genesee is based, was originally brewed in 1960. The beer is recognized for winning two consecutive gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival.

Catalog ID BE0028

Fox Head 400 Beer

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Text on Button I DRINK THAT FOX HEAD "400" BEER Because It's Brewed With "Waukesha" Water
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Black text on an orange background.

Curl Text PARISIAN NOVELTY CO CHICAGO
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Fox Head Brewing Company originally began as Waukesha Imperial Spring Brewing Company in the mid-1890s. When Fox Head's brewmaster Albert Kirschstein committed suicide, the company was purchased by Fox Deluxe Beer Sales, Inc., who also owned Peter Fox Brewing Company. In 1958, Weber Waukesha merged with Fox Head, and four years later G. Heileman bought the merged operation and closed both plants. The closing of the plants has been attributed to the rumors of Chicago Mafia involvement with the industry.

Catalog ID BE0027