Oshkosh Beer Geek Circa 1906

I spent a couple good hours in the Oshkosh Public Library this afternoon doing research on a post we’ll have here in a day or two about the early days of the Oshkosh Brewing Company. With that in mind, I thought it might be fitting to put up another picture from Paul Esslinger’s collection of Oshkosh Breweriana.

This is an Oshkosh Brewing Company beer tray from 1906. Oshkosh Special Old Lager was the company’s premium bottled beer. Their zippy tag-line for the brew claimed that it was “aged, ripened and matured to develop rare zest, sparkle and bouquet.”

I get a kick out of the guy sampling the beer on this tray. Here’s the 1906 model of the Oshkosh Beer Geek. He shows the well-mannered, dignified look of a true aficionado. The loving gaze and dainty glass only help to emphasize his robust girth. That and the flesh rolling under his chin leave no doubt that he’s swallowed much in his tireless pursuit of good beer. Click on the tray and you’ll see they’ve hammered the point home by stamping “A GOOD JUDGE” over the orb of his tortured liver. We should all be so dedicated.