As I mentioned in my last post, the post Prohibition and World War II eras gave rise to a beer alternative called Malt Liquor. The efforts of the Grand Valley Brewing Co. in Ionia, Michigan (1937) and the Gluek Brewing in Minneapolis, Minnesota (1942) brought Malt Liquor to the public. But it would be the Country Club brand that was made by the M. K. Goetz Brewing Co. in St. Joseph, Missouri that would bring the first successful Malt Liquor to the masses.
Goetz Brewing had a long history in St. Joseph, going back to 1859. As with many breweries nationwide, Prohibition pushed them to the brink. Goetz Brewing was no different and was able to survive. Once the The Cullen-Harrison Act amended the Volstead Act on March 21, 1933, beer was once again being brewed in St. Joseph. Country Club Malt Liquor was created in the 1951 and from the beginning the brew was marketed to a specific demographic. Check out these examples of Country Club ads:
As you see, Country Club is marketed as "The Party Brew!" Its being poured in a nice glass at parties, cookouts and as you can see from the demographic shown in the ad, the people have a very post World War II pre Mad Men era look and feel to them. The 60's and early 70's saw the ads change focusing more on the beer itself than the people drinking them. Here are a few examples:
But why the change?
The 1960's brought massive changes in the United States in the area of civil rights with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The often neglected African American market was now seen as fair game when it came to advertising. In terms of beer this was no exception. Market research showed a certain trend in the urban market when it came to Malt Liquor. According to the article A Story Without Heroes: The Cautionary Tale of Malt Liquor by Kihm Winship from the All About Beer Magazine - Volume 26, Issue 2 dated May 1, 2005:
They asked, “Which of our products are Black people buying already?” The word came back up the sales chain that people of color drank proportionally more malt liquor than their white counterparts. Nobody knew why; they just did.With that information in hand, brewers across the board started to advertise heavily to the much neglected African American market by using African American celebrities and athletes in their print and TV ads. In terms of Malt Liquor, celebrities like Redd Foxx, Richard Roundtree, Fred Williamson, Wilt Chamberlain and Billie Dee Williams helped to advertise Malt Liquor to the newly discovered urban market. That trend would continue into the 1990's and through today. Malt Liquor goes hand-in-hand with hip hop.
While Black Americans comprise 12 to 14 percent of the population, they consume 30 to 33 percent of the malt liquor brewed in the United States The statistic is important for two reasons. First, it shows why brewers of malt liquor advertise more heavily to Blacks: As a group, they buy more malt liquor. The second important fact is that if a third of all malt liquor is consumed by Black Americans, two-thirds is consumed by people who are not black. Hold that thought.
The Country Club brand itself would go through a period of change in ownership. Goetz Brewing would continue to operate in St. Joseph Missouri before merging with Pearl Brewing Co. of San Antonio, Texas in 1961. The St. Joseph brewery would eventually be closed in 1976 with all beer production being transferred to the Texas plant. Pearl Brewing would eventually fall under the Pabst Brewing Company umbrella and their beers being brewed at Miller plants.
Ok, this time my next post will go a bit more in depth on the role played by Colt 45 in the rise of Malt Liquor in the United States.
Until Then Happy Drinking,
SiscoVanilla
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