Memories of Old Dutch Beer

Vintage Old Dutch label from my collection

Mention Old Dutch beer to anyone under fifty and you'll probably get a blank stare in return. If you're lucky, they might vaguely remember it as the beer their grandparents drank.

From my collection

Heck, I once tried to talk about it with a guy at work over sixty and even he didn't remember it!

Well, believe it or not, Old Dutch used to be mighty popular around this area in the 1950's and, to a lesser degree, the 1960's. It was brewed at the Krantz Brewery in Findlay, Ohio for many years and was so well-known it even sponsored the Old Dutch Polka Revue on WEWS-TV in Cleveland.

While I was growing up in the 1960's, Old Dutch was the only beer I ever saw my parents drink. I was aware of the other brands: Budweiser, with those Clydesdales commercials; Miller High Life; Black Label. But Old Dutch is what my parents had with dinner once in a while, usually with something special like a steak.

I'm not sure why they were so loyal to Old Dutch. Maybe it was the fact that both of my parents had German blood in them, and they identified with the elderly German couple on the label.

Anyway, after my parents had poured their glasses, my brothers and I would jockey to drink the last few drops out of the empty bottle or can. It was then that I would study the label with its advertising slogan: THE GOOD BEER.

Now that's a nice, understated marketing statement. It's not the great beer; it's just the good beer.

From my personal collection

My parents were so loyal to Old Dutch that when they visited me at Ohio State in the late 1970's, they sometimes brought me a six-pack. I guess they felt better knowing what I was drinking.

One of my wise-guy roommates used to call it Old Ditch.

Anyway, when Old Dutch was no longer being produced, my parents finally moved on to other beers. But Old Dutch remains a symbol of the good old days to me.

****

The Hancock Historical Museum in Findlay features a nice display of Old Dutch beer and Krantz Brewery memorabilia.