Natty Light??? Whoa, if you’re a true native of Crab Town, Baltimore, the Land of Pleasant Living, this is blasphemy. Those of us old enough to remember the days before all the silly yuppie micro brews, fancy imports, and regular American beer being Budweiser, Coors, and Miller, knew what our ultimate barley and hops concoctions was….National Bohemian Beer, better known by the locals as Natty Boh, hon.
No one would know tasting the product sold as National Bohemian beer today, a lowly Pabst product bottled by Miller in Eden, North Carolina it was an excellent tasty domestic beer that overwhelmingly outsold Budweiser and Schlitz, the nation’s top two beers when beer was largely a local product.
Back in the 60’s, the beer brewed on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay dominated the central Maryland market accounting for 60% of all beer sales. Brewed in the Highlandtown/Canton community in East Baltimore at the intersection of Dillon and Conkling Street, the delight of Dundalk, the ambrosia of Anne Arundel, from the mountains to the bay and all around the eastern shore, only an out of town snob would scoff at the joys of the local beer identified by its trademark, Mr. Boh, the one eyed fellah with the big mustache.
There was only one beer fit to serve at local crab feasts, Natty Boh. If the local fire hall had a bull and oyster roast, only one beer would do, Natty Boh. From the upscale gentile suburbs of Lutherville, Towson, and Catonsville, to blue collar Dundalk, from Annapolis to Ocean City, “Gimme a beer!” meant Natty Boh. Local sports announcer, Chuck Thompson, who actually worked for the brewery, the voice of the Orioles and the Colts would exclaim, “Ain’t the beer cold!” after a game breaking play by either home team. They might drink mint juleps at the Kentucky Derby but look around old hilltop at Pimlico the ambrosia of the Preakness, Natty Boh. Going into the late 1970’s at Memorial Stadium, where the centerfield scoreboard had the National Bohemian logo as its centerpiece atop with flashing red lights if an Oriole hit a home run, thirsty fans on a hot summer’s night could grab a “small” Natty Boh for just fifty cents at the concession stands. A “regular” beer or one poured from a can out in the stands was only sixty cents. For years, Natty Boh was the only beer sold through out most of Memorial Stadium except at the exclusive “Hit and Run Club,” a restaurant on the lower level behind home plate where National Premium was available for seventy five cents a bottle!
Yes, there was National Premium too. That’s the beer they served at those uppity country clubs or Baltimore boys would buy to impress their gang at a fancy restaurant, but from Hagerstown to Monkton to St Mary’s City to Bel Air, it was Natty Boh. Heck, Natty Boh was even the local beer if there was such a thing for Washington DC served at Redskins and Washington Senators games.
In Baltimore, the waitress had big hair and called you, “hon.” You’d get gravy on your French fries, have your crab cake broiled or fried, but when that ol’ waitress asked, “Have another beer, hon?” it was going to be a Natty Boh.
So who the hell to the new folks at Anheuser Busch think they are selling their Natural Light as “Natty’s?” It takes a lot of nerve to market a generic Budweiser product that has been all but gone and forgotten for years pushed aside with the introduction of Bud Light and Busch Light with a new ad campaign.
I’m sorry, as a fellow who grew up in the Land of Pleasant Living and picked up quite a few cases of Natty Boh for $3.99 during my college years, to have the great mega-brewery, Anheuser Busch, the parent company of Budweiser and Michelob to hawk their least known product as “Natty’s” hits a sore nerve for this Baltimore lad. It’s bad enough the big national brands started gobbling up or destroying our fine local brews in the 1970’s, but to adopt our local casual term of endearment for our local brew is just too much to take.
Natty Boh lives on today, just barely. The generic product with the National Bohemian label on it sure isn’t the tasty brew that was the pride of the Chesapeake. National Beer merged with Carling in the mid 1970’s. The days of the old Highland Brewery were numbered. Soon, the one remaining Baltimore brew was then being bottled in Halethorpe in the former Carling brewery, just off the Baltimore Beltway exit 9. The great Baltimore brew still had a true local identity until G. Heileman bought out Carling National in 1979. From there, it was one move after another relegating National Beer to just a name on a bottle. Detroit’s once great local brew, Stroh’s, was on the move in the 1980’s expanding into new markets and acquiring struggling breweries. Heileman was over extended facing bankruptcy with its portfolio of regional and local brews from around the company. Stroh’s purchased Heileman’s and Natty Boh’s days as a Baltimore product would soon be over. The Halethorpe brewery was closed and National Bohemian was now made at the former Schaefer plant in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. National Premium disappeared. Natty Boh was still sold through out the Land of Pleasant living, but not in some of the more distant markets where it was once a taste of Charm City miles away. While the domestic beer market became almost the exclusive domain of Budweiser, Coors and Miller, all the rest of the nation’s former domestic brews were all becoming part of one company, Pabst, which was now the parent company of its former competition including even Schlitz, the #2 brew in the country in the 1960’s. National Bohemian has an oval shaped red logo with white lettering on a white label which combines aspects of the old 50’s style black oval on red background 50’s and earlier label and red and white chevron design from the 60’s. While owned by Pabst, the product itself is brewed by Miller at its plant in Eden, North Carolina. Alas, Natty Boh was once a pretty popular brew along North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Baltimore, it’s time to fight for a piece of our history. How dare big bad Budweiser stick Mr. Boh in the eye and advertise their “Natty” swill.
Conger up memories of the Colts Corral, Orioles games, and Chuck Thompson yelling, “Ain’t the beer cold” after Brooksie, Frank, or Boog clobbered a home run deep into the night skies out of 33rd Street while loyal Orioles fans chilled Natty Boh in hand, and don’t forget that famous Natty Boh jingle….
National Beer
National Beer
You'll love the taste of National Beer
And while I'm singing
I'm proud to say
It's brewed on the shores
of Chesapeake Bay!
We’re mighty proud of our Natty BOH, hon. Not that swill that's brewed in North Carolina that shamefully wears the National Boh brand, but the beer of yesterday lore that even had a twist off cap in the early 1970's, the only beer to do so, so beer drinkers could keep their beer as cold and fresh as possible. It was rich, tasty absolutely American beer. Nothing fancy, just pure Baltimre, hon.
No one would know tasting the product sold as National Bohemian beer today, a lowly Pabst product bottled by Miller in Eden, North Carolina it was an excellent tasty domestic beer that overwhelmingly outsold Budweiser and Schlitz, the nation’s top two beers when beer was largely a local product.
Back in the 60’s, the beer brewed on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay dominated the central Maryland market accounting for 60% of all beer sales. Brewed in the Highlandtown/Canton community in East Baltimore at the intersection of Dillon and Conkling Street, the delight of Dundalk, the ambrosia of Anne Arundel, from the mountains to the bay and all around the eastern shore, only an out of town snob would scoff at the joys of the local beer identified by its trademark, Mr. Boh, the one eyed fellah with the big mustache.
There was only one beer fit to serve at local crab feasts, Natty Boh. If the local fire hall had a bull and oyster roast, only one beer would do, Natty Boh. From the upscale gentile suburbs of Lutherville, Towson, and Catonsville, to blue collar Dundalk, from Annapolis to Ocean City, “Gimme a beer!” meant Natty Boh. Local sports announcer, Chuck Thompson, who actually worked for the brewery, the voice of the Orioles and the Colts would exclaim, “Ain’t the beer cold!” after a game breaking play by either home team. They might drink mint juleps at the Kentucky Derby but look around old hilltop at Pimlico the ambrosia of the Preakness, Natty Boh. Going into the late 1970’s at Memorial Stadium, where the centerfield scoreboard had the National Bohemian logo as its centerpiece atop with flashing red lights if an Oriole hit a home run, thirsty fans on a hot summer’s night could grab a “small” Natty Boh for just fifty cents at the concession stands. A “regular” beer or one poured from a can out in the stands was only sixty cents. For years, Natty Boh was the only beer sold through out most of Memorial Stadium except at the exclusive “Hit and Run Club,” a restaurant on the lower level behind home plate where National Premium was available for seventy five cents a bottle!
Yes, there was National Premium too. That’s the beer they served at those uppity country clubs or Baltimore boys would buy to impress their gang at a fancy restaurant, but from Hagerstown to Monkton to St Mary’s City to Bel Air, it was Natty Boh. Heck, Natty Boh was even the local beer if there was such a thing for Washington DC served at Redskins and Washington Senators games.
In Baltimore, the waitress had big hair and called you, “hon.” You’d get gravy on your French fries, have your crab cake broiled or fried, but when that ol’ waitress asked, “Have another beer, hon?” it was going to be a Natty Boh.
So who the hell to the new folks at Anheuser Busch think they are selling their Natural Light as “Natty’s?” It takes a lot of nerve to market a generic Budweiser product that has been all but gone and forgotten for years pushed aside with the introduction of Bud Light and Busch Light with a new ad campaign.
I’m sorry, as a fellow who grew up in the Land of Pleasant Living and picked up quite a few cases of Natty Boh for $3.99 during my college years, to have the great mega-brewery, Anheuser Busch, the parent company of Budweiser and Michelob to hawk their least known product as “Natty’s” hits a sore nerve for this Baltimore lad. It’s bad enough the big national brands started gobbling up or destroying our fine local brews in the 1970’s, but to adopt our local casual term of endearment for our local brew is just too much to take.
Natty Boh lives on today, just barely. The generic product with the National Bohemian label on it sure isn’t the tasty brew that was the pride of the Chesapeake. National Beer merged with Carling in the mid 1970’s. The days of the old Highland Brewery were numbered. Soon, the one remaining Baltimore brew was then being bottled in Halethorpe in the former Carling brewery, just off the Baltimore Beltway exit 9. The great Baltimore brew still had a true local identity until G. Heileman bought out Carling National in 1979. From there, it was one move after another relegating National Beer to just a name on a bottle. Detroit’s once great local brew, Stroh’s, was on the move in the 1980’s expanding into new markets and acquiring struggling breweries. Heileman was over extended facing bankruptcy with its portfolio of regional and local brews from around the company. Stroh’s purchased Heileman’s and Natty Boh’s days as a Baltimore product would soon be over. The Halethorpe brewery was closed and National Bohemian was now made at the former Schaefer plant in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. National Premium disappeared. Natty Boh was still sold through out the Land of Pleasant living, but not in some of the more distant markets where it was once a taste of Charm City miles away. While the domestic beer market became almost the exclusive domain of Budweiser, Coors and Miller, all the rest of the nation’s former domestic brews were all becoming part of one company, Pabst, which was now the parent company of its former competition including even Schlitz, the #2 brew in the country in the 1960’s. National Bohemian has an oval shaped red logo with white lettering on a white label which combines aspects of the old 50’s style black oval on red background 50’s and earlier label and red and white chevron design from the 60’s. While owned by Pabst, the product itself is brewed by Miller at its plant in Eden, North Carolina. Alas, Natty Boh was once a pretty popular brew along North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Baltimore, it’s time to fight for a piece of our history. How dare big bad Budweiser stick Mr. Boh in the eye and advertise their “Natty” swill.
Conger up memories of the Colts Corral, Orioles games, and Chuck Thompson yelling, “Ain’t the beer cold” after Brooksie, Frank, or Boog clobbered a home run deep into the night skies out of 33rd Street while loyal Orioles fans chilled Natty Boh in hand, and don’t forget that famous Natty Boh jingle….
National Beer
National Beer
You'll love the taste of National Beer
And while I'm singing
I'm proud to say
It's brewed on the shores
of Chesapeake Bay!
We’re mighty proud of our Natty BOH, hon. Not that swill that's brewed in North Carolina that shamefully wears the National Boh brand, but the beer of yesterday lore that even had a twist off cap in the early 1970's, the only beer to do so, so beer drinkers could keep their beer as cold and fresh as possible. It was rich, tasty absolutely American beer. Nothing fancy, just pure Baltimre, hon.
"Have another Natty Boh, hon?"
"You betcha! Ain' the beer cold!!"
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