P.O.C Beer Ad – April 23, 1954

P.O.C. Beer has long been the subject of a mystery: what do the letters P.O.C. stand for?

The well-remembered beer was pretty popular in the Cleveland area, being brewed here.

According to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, P.O.C. stood for "Pilsner of Cleveland" since it was brewed by the Pilsener Brewing Company located near the intersection of Clark Avenue and W. 65th. But in the ad above from the April 23, 1954 Lorain Journal, P.O.C. could also stand for other things, depending on the ad campaign, such as "Premium of Course." Over the years, I also heard of other answers to the P.O.C. mystery: Pride of Cleveland, Pilsener On Call, etc.

The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry notes that in 1963, the brewery was purchased by the Duquesne Brewing Company, so P.O.C. was re-imagined to stand for "Pleasure on Call."

The brew has made a few comebacks, most recently in 2016 as a craft pilsener by Double Wing Brewing Company. 

Here is the link to the page on its website for P. O. C. Pilsener.

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I hope that the latest version of P.O.C. is successful. It's pretty tough to get beer drinkers to switch brands (unless they are influenced by so-called influencers).

I know my taste in beer has evolved since the mid-1970s. When I was old enough to drink, my inaugural beer-drinking choice was 3.2% Miller. In college, my favorites were Genesee Cream Ale and later, Rolling Rock. (I can't forget Old Dutch, since my parents used to bring me a six-pack when they visited me in the dorm at Ohio State.) 

After college, I haven't had too much beer in the last 40+ years; when I do, it's usually a brand with nostalgic appeal, like Carling's Black Label or Hamm's (which is in my fridge right now). But I will have the occasional Guinness on St. Patrick's Day. In fact, I made Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew last year for my workplace's St. Paddy Day luncheon and it was a hit. Of course, we had to limit servings, since each bowl of stew had some brew in it.

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P.O.C. Beer has been served up on this blog a few times. This post featured a 1949 hockey-themed ad; and this 1954 ad include an appearance by Pilsner Pete.

June 17, 1954 P.O.C. Pilsener Beer ad

Here's a great ad for Cleveland favorite P.O.C. Pilsener Beer that ran in the Lorain Journal on June 17, 1954 – 59 years ago today.

I don't know the name of the advertising mascot but he reminds me of the old Cleveland TV kid's show host Franz the Toymaker.

The mascot was even featured on bar signs for the popular brew. (The image at left is from the Vintage Cleveland Tumblr blog – pay it a visit and click through the various pages to see some more great Cleveland images.)

P.O.C. was popular in Lorain, and ran a lot of ads in the local newspaper. I featured it here on the blog last year as well.

Anyway, whoever the Bavarian Alpine hat-wearing mascot is, he was part of a whole wave of 1950s cartoon beer mascots, including Bert & Harry Piel (for Piels Beer) and the Hamm's Beer Bear.

Ad from the Sandusky Register, May 10, 1951

P.O.C. Hockey Ad – October 12, 1949

Here's a great ad featuring two iconic things that aren't around any more – the Cleveland Barons and P.O.C. beer. (WEWS is still around.) The ad was pretty big, taking up the better part of a page in the October 12, 1949 Lorain Journal – sixty-three years ago this month.

According to this Wiki entry, the Cleveland Barons were the most successful team in American Hockey League history, winning ten division titles. For many years they were owned by Al Sutphin, who was an owner of the Braden-Sutphin Ink Co. (The printing company that I work for still buys ink from Braden-Sutphin.)

P.O.C. beer is still well-remembered. Of course, everyone is aware of the mystery as to what the P.O.C. name stood for ("Pride Of Cleveland," "Pilsner On Call," etc. ) Apparently, even the beer's owners weren't sure as time went by.

P.O.C. went out of production in 1986. I didn't feel too bad, since I was too busy drinking Old Dutch to notice.

I remember when some entrepreneur briefly revived P.O.C. in the late 1990s. (Here's the story.) It was only available locally at a beverage store on Clague Road. I drove out there and bought a few six packs, thinking they would be collector's items.

I guess I lost interest in them as collectibles because I ended up drinking them. I did save one bottle, though, and displayed it on my desk at work for a while (which probably didn't look particularly professional).