A black and white image of a federal building between black text on a yellowed background. 

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.

White text on a blue, bottle cap background. 

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.

Illustration of black owl face with yellow eyes. White text with black outline on a yellow background.

Bunker Hill Breweries was a brewery founded by John Cooper and Thomas Gould in 1821 in Charlestown, 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. 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.

Three lines of bright red text above one line of yellow text on a black background. 

"Oly" is short of Olympia Beer. Leopold Schmidt, a German immigrant from Montana founded The Capital Brewing Company in Tumwater, Washington. In 1902, the brewery became Olympia Brewing Company, producing Olympia Beer. Statewide Prohibition, which began in January 1916, four years before National Prohibition, ended beer making operations. After Prohibition ended, Olympia Beer was again for sale beginning in 1934. The following year, Olympia introduced a new “stubby” bottle of beer, and it was so popular that most breweries began using the same bottle style. In 1950, Olympia introduced their first canned beer, and their first “zip-tab” in the 1960s. Though the brewery itself closed in 2003, Olympia Beer is still available through the Pabst Brewing Company which owns the brand. 

Blue Mr. Pilsner logo (a face with a monocle over the eye, a smile and wearing a blue hat with a feather in it) on a white background, surrounded by a blue background with white text.
 

The National Brewing Company was a beer brewing company based in Baltimore, Maryland. The National Brewing Company operated from 1872 until the late 1970s. At the start of its production, the company was known exclusively for its National Premium beer. In 1885, National Brewery Company began brewing their flagship National Bohemian beer. While Mr. Boh, the icon for National Bohemian beer is much more well known, National Premium also had an icon of its own - Mr. Pilsner.

A white button with the face of a smiling man who has one eye and a very large mustache. 

National Bohemian Beer, otherwise known as Natty Boh', was first brewed in Baltimore Maryland in 1885 under the National Brewing Company.  It was not until 1933 that Mr. Boh (the mustached man who graces the cans and bottles) was introduced. Since National Bohemian and its sister beer, National Preimium, were so widely consumed in Baltimore the picture of Mr. Boh became a symbol of the city quickly. In the 1940s National Brewing was the first to introduce the six-can pack via Natty Boh. Through the 1950s National used an advertising campaign that referred to Maryland as the "Land of Pleasant Living" - a slogan that is still known used today. While Natty Boh was already a Baltimore favorite, it became the officially beer of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team in 1965.

Like many beer companies through the 1970s and 1980s National Bohemian was bought by larger companies. It was not until 2011 that Natty Boh returned to draft at Camden Yards and on Keg at local Baltimore taverns. Many advertisements for Baltimore often show Mr. Boh courting Ms.Utz (The female mascot for the popular Utz Potato Chip Company) in one way or another.

A colorful illustration of a woman in a red striped dress holding a can of beer while sitting on a crescent moon above gold text on a background of clouds and a blue sky with gold stars. A celluloid cut out of the same woman hangs below the button by a red ribbon. 

Founded in 1903, the Miller High Life Girl has been the mascot of the brand since the beginning. Depicting a circus girl, with her tall hat and whip, for the first 4 years she was shown standing on a wooden crate holding a tray of Miller High Life. In 1907 she changed to the now famous pose of sitting on a crescent moon, raising up one beer toward the sky. In 1944 she changed from being profile view to looking the consumer straight on.

The High Life Girl remained the logo until the 1980's when she was replaced. Following a slump in sales the High Life Girl was brought back in 1998 to try and bring life back into the brand. Going with a sentimental 'retro chic' marketing strategy that reminds people of the 'good old days', Miller High Life has started to make a come back.

A red curvy x shaped High Life logo is in the center of a red outline of a beer bottle top below red text on a gold background. 

Frederick J. Miller was a determined young brewer who settled in Milwaukee and purchased the Plank Road Brewery where he founded Miller Brewing Company in 1855. He brewed his delicious beer using yeast that he carried in his pocket from Europe. The beer was distributed starting in 1903 and is Miller Brewing's oldest beer. It quickly earned the nickname “The Champagne of Bottle Beer", most likely coming from its high level of carbonation, the unique shape of the bottle (tapered neck like a champagne bottle), and the fact that the bottle was clear with a gold label.

"I helped cap the bottle" most likely refers to either an employee or visitor of Miller Brewing Company who helped cap the Miller High Life bottle of beer at the brewery.

In the middle of the button is white script text on a dark orange box. Top half of the button has light blue text on a white background, bottom half of the button has a light blue background.  

The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and once the largest producer of beer in the United States. Its namesake beer, Schlitz, was known as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" and was advertised with the slogan "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer." In 1982, Schlitz was bought by Stroh Brewery Company and was later sold to Pabst Brewing Company in 1999.

White and blue text on red, white, and blue striped background.
 

Budweiser is a pale lager produced by Anheuser–Busch InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch from Saint Louis, MO it has grown to become one of the highest selling beers in the United States, and is available in over 80 markets worldwide. Adolphus Busch traveled extensively in Europe to observe and study the latest brewing techniques. In the 1870s, Anheuser-Busch became the first American brewery to implement pasteurization, which greatly improved the shelf-life and transportability of its beers. In the mid-1800s, most Americans preferred robust, dark ales. Busch had encountered lighter lager beers during his travels and began brewing a light Bohemian lager. Anheuser-Busch introduced this lager in 1876 under the brand name Budweiser.