Hamm's Beer Retro Look

The famous Hamm's Bear, star of many TV commercials

Since the mention of Duquesne Beer in yesterday's post seemed to generate some interest, let's belly up to the bar again today for some more brew talk.

My current favorite beer – Hamm's – has a fun promotion going on this summer. The beer is being sold in special 1960s-inspired retro design cans, and longtime fans of the brew are pretty excited. The box containing 30 cans is quite beautiful.

As reported on the Beer & Beyond website, "For its new paperboard packaging on 12-, 24- and 30-packs, the brand is resurrecting aspects of its look from the 1950s and 1960s, when Minnesota-born Hamm’s was one of the nation’s largest beer brands. The new Throwback Pack features the iconic Hamm’s crown superimposed atop of a lakeside scene – a forest overlooking sky-blue waters. 

"Inside, royal-blue limited-edition cans also boast the Hamm’s crown and the brand’s twin slogans: “The beer…refreshing!” and “From the land of sky blue waters.” The retro-inspired packaging is aimed at making a splash at retail and connecting with drinkers in the 25-35 age group, says Marissa Meliker, associate marketing manager for Hamm’s.

“We know that nostalgia beers are having a moment right now, and this packaging is a throwback to the glory years of Hamm’s,” she says. 

"The goal, she says, is to breathe new life into one of America’s great beer brands by leaning into its 157-year heritage. “It makes you want to crack open a Hamm’s at the lake,” Meliker says.

Regular readers of this blog know that I'm a sucker for retro packaging, whether its cereal, potato chips, fried chicken, or beer. When I saw the six-pack of Hamm's with the special design at Vermilion Farm Market, I couldn't jam it into my shopping basket fast enough. It just has the desired nostalgic effect on me, as I love that North Woods feeling.

Hamm's is really good beer too! However, I don't think it had a big following in Lorain County in its heyday. I couldn't find any ads that ran in the Journal over the years.

It's interesting that for many years, Hamm's employed animated TV commercials featuring its beloved bear, as well as other woodland creatures. Here's an ample sample.

****

I first wrote about Hamm's back here in 2020.

A Hamm-Fisted Beer Drinker

Although I’m not much of a drinker in my dotage, beer has been a favorite topic on this blog since the beginning. There have been many (some of you might think too many) posts devoted to a few favorites, including Old Dutch, and Carling’s Black Label. I’ve also written about P.O.C. and Barbarossa.

But I still like a beer once in a while. And right now, Hamm’s is the retro beer of choice in my fridge. (I still have a few cans of Black Label in there too).

Hamm’s, as many of you probably remember, is the beer from the Land of Sky Blue Waters and was originally brewed in St. Paul, Minnesota. Especially essential to the beer’s appeal was its popular advertising mascot, the Hamm’s Beer bear. He has been featured in TV commercials and ads since the 1950s, cavorting with other forest creatures in a Northern woods setting.

Here’s a great, almost full-page ad for a contest sponsored by Hamm’s Beer that ran in the Star Tribune, the largest newspaper in Minnesota, back on May 10, 1959.

Here’s a closeup of one of the great bear illustrations from the ad.

And here are some advertising clip sheets of the Hamm’s bear that I found online.

Vintage Hamm’s Beer advertising items (such as signs, ashtrays, banks, calendars, clocks, etc.) are highly collectible, especially anything with the bear on it. There’s even a club devoted to collecting only Hamm’s items. (Visit its website here.)