Billy Beer
 Official logo |
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| Manufacturer | Falls City Brewing Company Cold Spring Brewing West End Brewing Pearl Brewing Company |
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| Introduced | 1977 |
Billy Beer was a beer first made in the United States of America in July 1977, by the Falls City Brewing Company.[1] It was promoted by Billy Carter,[2] the younger brother of then-President Jimmy Carter.[3] The beer was produced by Cold Spring Brewing, West End Brewing, and Pearl Brewing Company.
Billy Carter, the younger brother of then-president Jimmy Carter, was selected as spokesman for the beer because he was widely known to enjoy drinking beer. However, it was also known that Billy's brand of choice was Pabst Blue Ribbon.[1]
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[edit] Label
Written on each can were these words of endorsement, which were followed by Billy Carter's signature:[4]
Brewed expressly for and with the personal approval of one of America's all-time great beer drinkers - Billy Carter.
I had this beer brewed up just for me. I think it's the best I ever tasted. And I've tasted a lot. I think you'll like it, too.
[edit] As a collectible
After Billy Beer ceased production, advertisements appeared in newspapers offering to sell Billy Beer cans for several hundred to several thousands of dollars each, attempting to profit from their perceived rarity. However, since the cans were actually produced in the millions, the real value of a can ranged from 50 cents to one dollar in 1981.[5]
Billy Beer was also featured on an episode of the Discovery Channel series Auction Kings, where an appraiser deemed a case of Billy Beer to be worthless; however, at the featured auction, the case was sold for $100.
[edit] References in popular culture
Billy Beer is referenced in a few episodes of The Simpsons:
- In the third-season episode The Otto Show, Homer finds an unopened can of Billy Beer in a pocket of his old concert-going jacket.
- In the ninth-season episode Lisa the Skeptic, Homer dismisses Lisa's claims about fossils not appreciating in value by saying, "That's what they said about this Billy Beer." He pulls a six-pack of the beer from their closet (which is filled with other obscure objects from earlier episodes), takes a drink from one of the cans and finishes by exclaiming, "We elected the wrong Carter."
Also referenced in several episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Falls City Beer". Falstaffbrewing.com. http://www.falstaffbrewing.com/falls.htm. Retrieved 2011-12-23.
- ^ http://tech.mit.edu/V98/PDF/N11.pdf#4
- ^ "WASHINGTON TALK: BRIEFING; Bullish on Billy Beer". New York Times. 1988-05-02. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE4D9153BF931A35756C0A96E948260. Retrieved 2011-12-23.
- ^ http://www.falstaffbrewing.com/_borders/billybeercan.gif
- ^ "No Point In Treasuring Billy Beer Cans". New York Times. 1981-12-06. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06EED61738F935A35751C1A967948260. Retrieved 2011-12-23.
