Posted 9 years ago
SpiritBear
(813 items)
Interestingly, I do not drink alcohol. I do collect it, though-- mostly Michigan stuff, such as this.
The neck label is missing (I'll try to copy an old one) and the main label is fairly damaged (I have to repair that,) but the graphics and bright (and it was only $1.)
If I correctly recall, zip-codes came out for national use in 1963. That this bottle lacks one means that it is likely before then. That the brewery stopped in 1965 seems to corroborate this newest-possible date.
A very intelligent design is done on this bottle in the form of a date-code, the style of which I've not seen before.
The issue is, it'd be a perfect system had the glass-maker (seen on bottom), which is Knox (1924 to 1968), added a year-code.
But the date-code functions as such:
The left side has 10, 20, 30, then 1-9 on its edge. 1-2 notches will be present on a factory-applied label (if none are present, it was likely a label added after the company closed.)
These 2 notches make up the day. Mine are at 20 and 9. So day 29.
The right side has 1 - 12, and it will be notched once. Mine is notched at 5.
So my bottle was made on 5/29/?? Alas, Knox had to be an @$$%(!# and not give a date-code on the bottom or heal for year.
The notches at the bottom of the label, which amount to 4, may be some indication.
Sebewaing (I'm guessing it's pronounced as Sea-Boo-Wing, but who knows as we love using oddly named cities) is a city in Michigan, where this brewery (Now called S-Brew, I think) is located.
The bottle says they began in 1880. Their site claims they ended this brew in '65.
Frankly, I just like the colours and pheasant and tie to my State.
Stippling, or all those little dots on the base of the bottle, will put it at the '40s (no earlier than '30s, but it's not that old) on to its newest date I've listed.
Just another thing to mention.
Gorgeous label.
I like it. Thanks for the compliment on it.
Very nice graphics....I collect a few paper labeled beer bottles myself :)
http://www.usbeerlabels.com/beer-labels/sebewaing/116/