Billy Beer
 Official logo | |
| Manufacturer | Falls City Brewing Company Cold Spring Brewing West End Brewing Pearl Brewing Company |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 1977 |
Billy Beer was a beer first made in the United States in July 1977, by the Falls City Brewing Company.[1] It was promoted by Billy Carter, whose older brother Jimmy was the President of the United States.[2] In October 1978, Falls City announced that it was closing after less than a year of Carter's promotion. The beer was produced by Cold Spring Brewing, West End Brewing, and Pearl Brewing Company.
Endorsement printed on beer cans
Written on each can were these words of endorsement, which were followed by Billy Carter's signature:[3]
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.
Despite Carter's promotion of Billy Beer, "in private he drank Pabst".[4]
As a collectible
After Billy Beer ceased production in 1978, 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]
In popular media
In the 22nd episode of season 3 of The Simpsons, "The Otto Show", Homer Simpson pulls a can of Billy Beer from the pocket of his "concert-going jacket", presumably from the last concert he had attended when he was younger, and drinks the beer.[6][7]
In the 8th episode of season 9 of The Simpsons, "Lisa the Skeptic", Homer is hoarding Billy Beer cans, anticipating that they will rise in value. He drinks one of the beers and says wistfully, "We elected the wrong Carter".[8][9]
References
- ^ "Falls City Beer". FalstaffBrewing.com. Archived from the original on 2012-01-03. Retrieved 2011-12-23.
- ^ The Tech - MIT p. 4
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2004-07-23. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "In Private, It's Pabst for Billy Carter". The Milwaukee Journal. June 10, 1978. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
- ^ "No Point In Treasuring Billy Beer Cans". New York Times. 1981-12-06. Retrieved 2011-12-23.
- ^ Chen, Raymond. "The Otto Show". The Simpsons Archive. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ Rabin, Nathan (August 28, 2011). "The Simpsons (Classic): "The Otto Show"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
- ^ Wierny, Hari Michael. "Lisa the Skeptic". The Simpsons Archive.
- ^ "The Simpsons S9E8: Lisa the Skeptic". comb.io.
