knickerbocker_beer_1955.jpgHere’s something New York that’s been lost: Knickerbocker Beer.

Made by the Ruppert Brewery, Knickerbocker was the official beer of the New York Giants, a bit ironic given that Jacob Ruppert, a.k.a. “The Colonel,” was the owner of the New York Yankees during the heyday of Ruth and Gehrig. The brewery was located at 92nd and Second, but it closed in the late 1960s. The Knickerbocker brand was acquired by another brewery, but discontinued during the 1970s. (The ad at left appeared in 1955.)

Our friend Betsy Bradley will be talking about Knickerbocker beer next Tuesday night, September 7, at Brooklyn’s “Adult Education: A Useless Lecture Series.” The theme for the night is “Beer Matters,” and the panel takes place at
Union Hall in Park Slope (702 Union Street at 5th Ave). The doors open at 7:30 p.m., the panel begins at 8:00 p.m. and there’s a five-dollar cover charge.

Betsy’s talk is called “Knickerbocker: Nativism, Prohibition, and the Rise of New York’s Namesake Beer.” Her co-panelists are Brendan I. Koerner (“The Madonna of Malternatives: Zima and the Challenges of Brand Reinvention”), Erica Shea and Stephen Valand (“Secrets of Brewing In the Modern New York Apartment”), and Bill Wander (“The Truth about McSorley’s: Reenvisioning Joseph Mitchell’s
“Wonderful Saloon”). Click here for more detailed descriptions.

The ad below appeared in a 1957 New York Giants program. You can find some more great baseball-related beer ads here (including one for Rheingold, official beer of the New York Mets when I first started following them, another lost New York beverage.)

knickerbocker_beer_1957.jpg[Thanks to Amanda T. for the heads-up!]