National Association Breweriana Advertising NABA News

2026 NABA Convention: Reserve Your Hotel Room Now!

Danny Bora — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 14:35:20 GMT

NABA is excited to announce that the online link to reserve your room for the 2026 Convention is live. You can reserve your room now at the convention hotel, the Alloy Doubletree in King of Prussia, PA, a Philadelphia suburb.

This highly rated hotel is in an ideal location, as it is proximate to many restaurants, bars, and breweries. And there is plenty of free parking.

Traditional Single-Bed King and Two-Bed Queen rooms are at the specially negotiated NABA rate of just $159, with some junior suites available for only $169. To get these rates, you must use the link below – they are not available by calling the hotel. Please note that this link is open to NABA members only and there is a two-room limit per member.

When using the link, please be aware that the default setting is for 5 nights, Monday July 27 through Friday July 31, checking out Saturday August 1, the last day of the convention.

If you wish to book a shorter or longer stay, you can. Just click on “Edit Stay” at the top right of the page and select your preferred dates. Then click “Update.” If the NABA rate doesn’t appear, it could be that the requested day(s) is not available. If you would like to be waitlisted for that day(s), please email Convention Co-chair Rusty Long at firecat959@gmail.com.

NABA has a full week’s worth of great activities planned, including outstanding home tours on Monday and Tuesday and an excellent bus trip to visit the area’s historic breweries on Wednesday. And as always, we anticipate robust room-to-room trading throughout the week!

Please don’t delay in reserving your room, as the room block we have reserved at the NABA rate, although large, will sell out quickly. NABA’s last four conventions have each experienced record-setting attendance.

To reserve your hotel room, please click here now

Please note that registration for the convention itself will be opened up in early 2026. The link above is strictly to reserve your hotel room.

Introducing the “Collector Series” of Videos

Danny Bora — Sat, 04 Jan 2025 01:02:35 GMT

Introducing the “Collector Series” of Videos

NABA and The Cone Top Brewery Museum have partnered to create a series of videos that feature the hosts of our house tours during the past few conventions.

The purpose of these videos is to showcase the passion and stories behind the collections of these dedicated NABA members.

Our first highlight in the series is Randy Huetsch of Chesterfield, MO.

As a 12-year-old riding his bike through the woods, Randy discovered an embossed bottle from the early 1900s. Intrigued that it carried the name of his tiny hometown, Waterloo, IL, Randy researched its origins and thus began his lifelong hobby as an avid collector and expert in antique advertising.

Today, the lower level of his spacious home features an impressive, gallery-like display of breweriana from the St. Louis area – much of it from the Pre- Prohibition era. Many of his pieces are believed to be either unique or one of just a few examples that still exist.

See all Collector Series Videos Here

2025 Convention Logo

Danny Bora — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 22:20:22 GMT

Proud to present to you our 2025 Convention logo! It features Brewster the Rooster of Goebel Beer fame. Our Michigan convention will be loaded with the usual fun NABA elements like the Brewmaster's Dinner, the seminars and the room-to-room trading. Our house tour will encompass a singular home next year. Convention attendees will be bussed to the home of the largest private breweriana collection known to us. It is presented in museum fashion, and is not to be missed. Details will be revealed at a later date. Our bus tour will be to the temporary site of the Conetop Museum and The Mill complex in nearby Vicksburg, MI. Complete details on this event will also be revealed in the near future. Clayton Emery and the various Michigan Chapters will be running our ground game, so you know it's going to be great! Be on the lookout in October when we launch room reservations at the Kalamazoo Radisson. This convention will sell out early, so don't miss your chance to secure a room at our primary site. Thanks to the remarkable Barry Travis for the fantastic logo artwork.

President's Message - Spring 2024

Danny Bora — Sun, 07 Apr 2024 19:07:16 GMT

Meet Jeff Buchler!

Danny Bora — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 23:31:26 GMT

Jeff is a collector of breweriana items, especially those from Frankenmuth Brewery. You can meet Jeff and other collectors from around the area at the 49th Annual Buckeye Chapter Beer Collectables Show on March 9th.

President's Message - Winter 2024

Danny Bora — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 00:34:05 GMT

NABA adds two new local chapters–now has 57!

Danny Bora — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 00:32:26 GMT

Rick Basken and his chalk statues make the TV news

Danny Bora — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 02:03:52 GMT

From WBAY News in Green Bay, WI.

ALGOMA, Wis. (WBAY) - Anything that is beer- or brewery-related, and considered collectible, is known as “breweriana.”

Over the last decade, a Kewaunee County man has amassed a very rare, and specific, breweriana collection.

This week in Small Towns, we travel to Algoma to see his hundreds of chalk statues.

Rick Basken was just a kid when he first became a breweriana collector.

“My mom went to rummage sales, and I would find like old Miller mirrors or something with a bear on it or a deer on it, for five or ten bucks, so I’d buy it, hang it in my room, and before you knew it my room was full of Miller mirrors and whatnot, so that’s kind of how it started,” recalls Rick.

Ten years ago, while on eBay, Rick came across this statue of a guy holding a Blatz beer can and a flag, a chalk statue made of molded plaster.

“I don’t remember why I bought it, but I just bought it, and it was like 40 bucks, it was cheap, and when I opened it up, I was surprised how big it was and how cool it looked, and I thought, is there things like this out there because I never saw that before,” says Rick.

Rick then found a book on back-bar chalk statues.

“And I was blown away by how many pieces are out there,” explains Rick.

Safe to say, he was hooked.

“And then it got kind of crazy, yeah,” says Rick with a smile.

Today, Rick’s basement is filled with more than 300 statue pieces on display. It’s one of the top chalk statue collections in the country.

“I know of like three collections that are superior to mine. Those collectors have been collecting a lot longer than I have been collecting,” says Rick.

The statues range in value from $50 to more than $10,000.

The average is around $500.

With 700 different statues known to be in existence, Rick is always on the hunt.

“Always looking. I probably spend 10-15 hours a week, just like at night, on the phone looking on eBay or Facebook with all the different breweriana groups, and always looking for what comes out there,” says Rick.

Never meant to be a collectible, the chalk statues were replaced by plastic ones in the mid to late 1950′s and often thrown away. That’s why they’re so rare.

Along with collecting, Rick also writes a frequent column called “Chalk Talk” for a national breweriana magazine.

He’s also taught himself how to repair damaged statues.

“I made a mold of a good one and I can pour it, so I reproduce the piece, and now I just have to fasten it back on and repaint it and bring it back,” Rick demonstrates.

Rick isn’t quite sure his family and friends truly appreciate his collection.

“I’m sure most people in my family think I’m nuts. That’s probably the majority of people,” says Rick with a chuckle.

But other collectors certainly do.

“When you know the age of something, and you know the value of something, the rarity of something, you get to appreciate what you’re looking at,” explains Rick.

With his passion still burning strong to acquire more statues from the past, Rick’s collection will continue to grow.

By just how much, and what he plans to do with it in the future, well, that is still to be determined.

“Well, it’s either you sell it or you die with it,” Rick says, smiling, “and I’m not quite sure, at this point I’m still focused on still building it and having fun collecting it. But I guess when it comes to the point where it’s no longer fun, then who knows.”

NABA adds two new local chapters—now has 55

Danny Bora — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 17:56:01 GMT

NABA adds two new local chapters—now has 55

NABA adds Ken “Obie” Jones to the Membership Committee

Danny Bora — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 17:51:43 GMT

Ken “Obie” Jones
of Lawrenceville, GA, has joined
NABA’s Membership Committee.

Ken is a longtime NABA member who has been active in the BCCA and ABA. He started collecting beer cans in Georgia as a teenager, and gradually narrowed his collecting to Southeastern breweries. He now concentrates on Georgia-based breweries, with a focus on Atlantic Co. brewery items, PreProhibition Georgia breweries, and Carling and Pabst items from their previous breweries in Georgia.

Ken is the long-time president of the Atlantic Chapter and has organized many breweriana trade shows in the Southeast, including the newly created Southern Crossroads Show in Macon, GA. He has written articles on various Southern breweries.

A recognized Georgia brewery historian, Ken has advised various Atlanta bars and restaurants on decorating with local breweriana and has been a consultant to movie production companies on period-specific breweriana. Ken is looking forward to retirement and spending more time on the hobby and growing NABA’s membership.

President's Message

Danny Bora — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 17:46:27 GMT

The NABA Convention and The Cone Top Brewery Museum.

There is so much great stuff going on with your club! In fact, there was so much to show and tell you in this issue of the magazine that we had to extend it from the typical 80 pages to 96 pages!

The 2023 convention shattered previous attendance records by 25% and our club continues to grow—we have been adding new members at the rate of almost one per day. The convention was by all accounts a huge success—we hope you will enjoy reading about it in these pages and attending the next “NABA Family Reunion,” our 53rd annual convention, to be held in St. Louis, from July 29- August 3, 2024. At publication time, we sold nearly 1000 room nights and are approaching sellout at the hotel. We are far ahead of last year’s pace and it is likely to be another record breaker!

The amazing “Northern Lights”

You can read about many of the convention highlights in these pages, but you have to be there to truly experience and appreciate them. Perhaps the best example of this was the “Northern Lights” exhibit put on by NABA’s partner, the Cone Top Brewery Museum. A suburban hotel suite was magically transformed into a cozy Northwoods cabin thanks to the creativity and hard work of the Museum’s crew. It presented the perfect environment to display some of Cone Top’s classic, outdoorsy-themed breweriana from the 1940s–1960s that featured scenes of the popular pastimes of hunting, fishing, and camping.

NABA’s “Front Door”

You will continue to read more about the NABA/Cone Top partnership in these pages, as it continues to progress.

Ultimately, the Cone Top Museum will be an integral part of The Mill at Vicksburg, the huge, multi-purpose entertainment and hospitality complex under construction in Michigan, not far from Kalamazoo. Fittingly, The Mill also will house an Old Stove Brewery—similar to but different from the three Old Stove facilities that exist in Seattle—owned by The Mill’s developer, NABA member Chris Moore.

Chris envisions Cone Top as being “NABA’s Front Door,” which will enable our organization to have a physical, “brick and mortar” presence but without the corresponding costs that could impede a non-profit organization like NABA. Chris and his team envision a highly dynamic museum, with interactive and experiential displays that not only tell the story of the breweriana but bring it alive.

Importantly, there are plans in development for the Museum to feature displays that highlight the history of NABA and its founders as well as to provide opportunities for NABA members to display parts of their own collections on a rotating basis. A key goal for the Museum is to communicate and celebrate breweriana in an engaging way that will generate interest in both the hobby and NABA.

The “Northern Lights” exhibit is a taste of things to come from Cone Top, and another exciting exhibit is already in the works to develop in Vicksburg and bring to St. Louis. Just another reason to make sure you make it to the 2024 NABA convention

Convention 52 Video - The Beer Collector

Danny Bora — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 22:52:13 GMT

Highlights of the 52nd Annual National Association Breweriana Advertising (NABA) Convention in Schaumburg, Illinois (Chicago Area) at the Hyatt Regency Hotel from August 1st through August 5th, 2023. This Beer Show had many breweriana collectibles that you wouldn’t be able to find at a Flea Market or Garage Sale for your rec room, garage bar, man cave or tavern. Amazing Beer history that had Historic Brewery Antiques, Beer Signs, Beer Cans, Beer Bottles, other Breweriana Collectibles, and Old Advertising through Motion Beer Signs, Beer Lights, Neon Signs, Beer Trays, and more. Major Brands included Heileman’s Old Style, Budweiser, Bud Light, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Schlitz, Miller High Life, Leinenkugels, Blatz, Meister Brau, Strohs and so much more. Don't forget to Subscribe, Like, and Share. This shows me that you want to see more videos, so I will continue to put in the effort. Links Follow "The Beer Collector" Facebook Page for additional content. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... Share the “The Beer Collector” YouTube Channel / @thebeercollector

NABA adds Dr. Scott Brown to Board of Directors

Danny Bora — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 22:54:17 GMT

The NABA Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Dr. Scott Brown, of Phoenix, MD, has been unanimously elected by the Board as our newest member of the NABA Board of Directors.

Scott is highly regarded within our collecting community as an outstanding person and hobbyist, whose interest focuses on breweriana from his native state of New Jersey. Scott is a 40-year NABA member and frequent contributor to NABA’s Breweriana Collector magazine.

Professionally, Scott is a physician and chairman of the department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore. He also is a noted jazz historian, and a published author on that subject.

Please join us in congratulating Scott on his addition to the NABA Board. We are honored and fortunate to have him join our outstanding team!

Important NABA News

Danny Bora — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 22:25:39 GMT

Happy New Year!

Here is a quick update on some of the happenings of your club. Please note that we’ll be emailing a survey shortly to get your feedback on the direction of NABA.

Breweriana Collector magazine: We are excited to be bringing you the 200^th issue of NABA’s magazine, marking 50 years of continuous publication. At 88 pages, it is a bit bigger than our usual 80-page quarterly, and has some great feature articles, including in-depth examinations of the once nationally famous Stroh and Ballantine breweries. More than 100 NABA members contributed to the magazine, which was delivered to the printer on January 10 and should arrive in your mailbox in early February. Why not until February? Our printer is experiencing “back-up” and also is changing over into new production equipment. We are in discussions with them about avoiding these kinds of delays in the future.
Annual Auction: Our online auction is our most important fundraiser for the club’s increased operating expenses and it enables us to keep dues at just $35/$90 for 3 years. We want to ignore inflation and keep dues unchanged. We are fortunate to have Morean Auctions as our partner for our auction on July 30, 2023. Please consider consigning items you may want to sell that have a minimum value of $250. Please email Auction Chair Matthew Olszewski at Mattski323@gmail.com to arrange your consignments. Matt will be collecting consignments at the Blue & Gray Show at the Hilton Washington Dulles Airport from February 16-19 and the Spring Thaw Show in Harrisburg PA from March 30-April 1.
2023 Convention in Chicago, Aug 1-5: We have some amazing plans for what will be yet another record-breaker in attendance. Our host hotel, the Hyatt Regency in Schaumburg, IL, is sold out of rooms at the NABA rate. Because of incredible demand, we sold 40% more room nights than our previous all-time high in Pittsburgh in 2022. Rooms may still be available at the Hyatt Place hotel, which is next door to the Hyatt Regency. NABA does not have a contract with the Hyatt Place, but at last check, a AAA rate of $123 was available. If you’d like to get on the waitlist for the Hyatt Regency, please email Convention Chair Mike Michalik at therunningwaiter@yahoo.com. Please also email Mike if for any reason you must cancel an existing Hyatt Regency reservation, so that we can get in others from our waitlist.
Convention Brewmaster’s dinner: NABA is proud to announce that this year's Brewmaster's Dinner at the Convention is on Wednesday evening, Aug 2^nd and will be hosted by Marty Nachel, the nationally-known beer expert and author of such books as "Beer for Dummies" and "Homebrewing for Dummies." Marty is also a professional beer judge and The Great American Beer Festival, The Festival of Barrel Aged Beers and The World Beer Cup are among the major competitions that he's judged. Marty has been teaching on the subject of beer for over 30 years.
Convention Registration Form will be emailed to you as a PDF soon and in a separate communication. Those who register by April 30 will receive a FREE tin-over-cardboard sign commemorating the convention. More to come about this soon!
Membership Survey is coming to you via email in the next week or so. Your opinions are critical toward determining the direction of the club, so please watch for the survey in your email and complete it right away.
Membership in NABA continues to grow! We are on the march to 1500 members and have more members now than at any time in our 50+ year history. Importantly, we now have 53 local chapters and counting. Many thanks to Membership Chair Charlie Smith and all of you who serve as ambassadors for our organization!

Happy Collecting!

Your NABA Board of Directors

NABA News - Fall 2022

Danny Bora — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:30:27 GMT

Illinois Stories | Noonan Brewery Collection | WSEC Springfield

Danny Bora — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 03:28:33 GMT

A Springfield man opens a restaurant in Chatham so he will have a place to exhibit his enormous collection of Illinois breweriana.

Charlie Staats elected as newest member of NABA Board of Directors

Danny Bora — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 22:00:20 GMT

NABA News - Summer 2022

Danny Bora — Fri, 15 Jul 2022 15:15:09 GMT

President's Message

Danny Bora — Sun, 12 Jun 2022 12:04:17 GMT

Hello Fellow NABA Members!

There has never been a better time to be a NABA member. That’s a pretty bold statement to make for an organization that’s 50 years old. But it’s absolutely true. Here are some reasons why:

Biggest membership numbers: Consider that NABA now has more members than at its previous peak in the early 1990s, when we were the beneficiary of the beer can collecting boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s. NABA is growing at an unprecedented pace thanks to the work of our members, local chapter partnerships, social media, and organization leadership.

Expanded magazine: We went from 48 pages per issue just a few years ago to varying from 64-80 pages. Every edition of this magazine has more than 100 members participating in its publication!

Largest convention attendance: We set a record last year for our 50th convention in Milwaukee and hotel bookings for this year in Pittsburgh are 50% above last year! The Pittsburgh convention has some amazing programming—there’s still time for you to register.

More local chapter affiliations: We now have 48 local chapter affiliates—more than twice as many as we had 5 years ago. The strength of our hobby is at the grassroots level and NABA is happy to help promote our chapters and their events.

Outstanding leadership team: I have the privilege of working with a truly dedicated and talented team that we’ve steadily assembled to drive NABA forward. This includes our Board members, Membership Committee, and magazine staff. Check out the names of this terrific group of people on page 1 of this issue. They are truly some of the finest people to work with on behalf of our club and hobby.

Strategic partnerships: This magazine has covered the news about our partnership with The Mill/Cone Top Brewery Museum, an incredible project in development in Vicksburg, MI. Our association with Cone Top will provide NABA with tremendous exposure and gives our members an opportunity to curate displays in a state-of-the-art museum—at no cost to our organization—when this amazing facility opens in 2026.

We are in the second year of our successful partnership with Morean Auctions, a leading breweriana auction company, to host our convention auction and reinvigorate it to the premier level it once enjoyed before the days of the Internet. This is NABA’s most important source of operating funds and allows us to do all the things mentioned above—without raising dues!

NABA also has sponsored the Trayman2.0 brewery tray capture project, which will provide a website of all known North American trays and will be packed with information—and available to all collectors at no cost.

And stay tuned…we are on the verge of announcing another major partnership that will hugely broaden NABA’s exposure, build membership, and offer our members an additional opportunity to create exhibits and displays of their breweriana.

Has there ever been a better time to be a NABA member? We don’t think so. And we are glad to have you as a member and grateful for your involvement and support!

See you in Pittsburgh!

Charlie Smith voted on to NABA Board of Directors

Danny Bora — Sat, 14 May 2022 01:49:11 GMT

The NABA Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Charlie Smith has been unanimously elected to the Board and will take leadership of NABA’s Membership Committee. A past president of the BCCA, Charlie is well known and highly regarded within our collecting community as an outstanding hobbyist.

Charlie, of Harrisburg, PA, is a longtime collector. During his tenure as an officer and president of the BCCA, collaborated on a number of joint marketing and informational initiatives with NABA to the benefit of the hobby overall.

Please join us in congratulating Charlie on his addition to the NABA Board. We are honored and fortunate to have him join our outstanding team!

President's Message

Danny Bora — Tue, 03 May 2022 22:30:44 GMT

Hello Fellow NABA Members!

I’ve been a NABA member for more than 40 years, and one of the biggest benefits of being a part of NABA is attending our wonderful conventions and meeting so many terrific people from across the country. One of those great people is Reino Ojala, who has attended 50 straight conventions, and I hope he will be at his 51st in Pittsburgh from Aug 2-6. Unlike Rei, I have not made it to the convention every year. Sometimes other things in life got in the way.

That may be true of you, too. But I hope it’s not the case this year, because we’ve got such a great agenda planned for you in Pittsburgh! There is a packed itinerary full of new and interesting events like The Back Bar and Speakeasy, as well as the popular traditional ones, like the Bus Tour and Brewmaster’s Dinner. Please read all about it in this issue on pages 8-10.

And how about that NABA convention hallmark—room-to-room trading? There will be plenty of that, especially as we already have record room bookings, exceeding last year’s 50th convention in Milwaukee, our previous all-time high.

But wait, there’s more! Co-packed with this issue of the magazine is your registration and merchandise ordering form. If you register for the convention by May 31 (must be postmarked by then), you will receive a custom-made, limited run tin-over-cardboard sign absolutely FREE!

NABA Convention Auction: Please support our annual auction where your items will have the same worldwide sales audience enjoyed by Morean Auctions, our partner again this year. Proceeds from this auction go to NABA’s operating funds, which enable us to avoid raising dues or the convention registration fee, despite dealing with inflation. See details on the next page for consigning.

NABA Leadership: As NABA grows in membership and regional expansion, so does its membership committee. We are excited to add Jared Sanchez of Oshkosh, WI to this outstanding team.

This magazine: Thank you to all who contributed to our seventh 80-pager in a row. And welcome to our new Associate Editor, Doug Hoverson of Minneapolis, MN.

Convention 51 TOC

Danny Bora — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 20:40:42 GMT

Our artwork for the 2022 Convention sign is complete. We took the iconic Fort Pitt "Running Waiter" and tweaked it by having him serve up the iconic Running Waiter and Fort Pitt Ale cans! This will be an 8" square TOC sign, with beveled edges and embossed waiter. The best news of all, is that this sign will be free to all NABA members that register for the convention by May 31st! The free offer does not apply to guest registrations. If you register beyond May 31st, the sign will cost $15. If any signs remain, you may purchase one for $20, plus shipping if applicable. This is a limited run and when they're gone, they're gone. Registration will open up soon, so keep an eye on this page and your inbox.

51st Convention Special Beer

Danny Bora — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 21:20:19 GMT

NABA is collaborating with Pittsburgh's preeminent craft brewer, Dancing Gnome, on a special beer for our 51st Convention. NABA's Creative Director, Barry Travis, designed a label that was based on a Fort Pitt brand from the 1930's & Dancing Gnome's current label. 4-packs of the 16oz cans will be available at the convention.

New Membership Ads

Danny Bora — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 01:34:12 GMT

NABA has created two new membership ads for use in our chapters’ newsletters. One is in standard full-page size and one is a half-page. Please feel free to download them for use in your local chapter newsletter!

NABA Half Page.pdf

NABA Full Page.pdf

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Danny Bora — Sat, 25 Dec 2021 03:11:52 GMT

Your NABA Board of Directors would like to wish our members and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2021 was a very momentous year for our organization:

• We had record membership growth and now have 1200 members across 44 states, equaling our highest membership levels since the late 1990s. Our Membership Committee has done an outstanding job, with representation from coast to coast.

• We celebrated our 50th Convention in Milwaukee with a record attendance. Our next Convention in Pittsburgh from August 2-6, 2022, already has more total room reservations than Milwaukee finished with, so attendance will shatter the Milwaukee record. And we have some exciting new events, including a Speakeasy featuring classic cocktails and a live jazz pianist, and member John Bain’s famed “The Back Bar” display and contest of lighted back bar signs.

• We produced five consecutive 80-page issues of the Breweriana Collector magazine in celebration of our 50th Convention.

• We introduced a promotional video about our club to help attract new members.

• We formed an exciting partnership with member Chris Moore’s “The Mill”, a multi-function $100-million entertainment complex under construction in Vicksburg, Michigan. This massive facility will include a brewery, distillery and The Cone Top Brewery Museum, with 16,000 square feet devoted to breweriana, which NABA members can help populate and curate with ongoing rotations of their collections. The museum will provide tremendous public exposure for NABA.

• We created a partnership with members Mark Rogers and Peter Bayer to help them build a visual, online database, “Trayman2.0,” that has the mission of providing a record of every beer tray ever produced in the Americas.

• We have continually revamped and updated our own website at www.nababrew.com, thanks to the efforts of our great webmaster, Dan Bora. Check it out and log in as a member to see all that it has to offer – and there’s even more in development that will be exclusive to NABA members.

There is much more in store in 2022 for NABA, and it is all made possible by you, our loyal and generous members. We are grateful for your on-going support for our club, magazine and events, and sincerely wish you a happy and healthy 2022!

President's Message

Danny Bora — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 02:50:57 GMT

Hello Fellow NABA Members:

This is my first column as your newly elected NABA president. It is truly an honor for me to lead this great organization and follow in the footsteps of past presidents and valued friends, John Ferguson, George Baley, Larry Moter, and the late Norm Jay.

It also is an honor to serve with the terrific group of people we have on our NABA Board and Membership Committee. Check out their names on the list of the first page of this magazine. One look at that list and you will see some of the absolute best people in the world of breweriana. They all are really nice people and great hobbyists who are volunteering their time and talents and working hard for NABA and you.

This first column as president is the only time that I will talk about me. Even though I am lucky enough to know hundreds of you, I don’t know you all, and appreciate the opportunity to briefly introduce myself.

I joined NABA at the age of 20 and have been a member for decades. I started collecting as a teenager in the 1970s. A modest beer can collection grew into a fascination with breweriana. This might sound a lot like your story.

I grew up in northern New Jersey, just outside of New York City and lived in Manhattan for many years. I’ve always been fascinated with “The Big Apple.” That’s why I collect New York City breweriana.

When my wife and I became empty nesters after our three children went off to college, I had more time to devote to “the hobby.” I always enjoyed NABA and its magazine, so I felt like I needed to give back. I like to write and I did a lot of it in my career. I have a background in journalism and am an ex-advertising exec. for 20 years, I have had my own marketing research and communications consulting business.

My business career seemed to be a good fit with things I might do for NABA. First, I got involved writing for this magazine. Then I became a Board member. This led to becoming vice president and when Lee Chichester retired, I also assumed the role of editorial director of the magazine. Now I’m president. And this all happened in the span of 7 years.

I tell you this story because you can have a similar story, or you can write your own chapter with NABA. We encourage member participation and welcome your help. I may be president, but it takes dozens of people to run NABA, this magazine, our projects, and our conventions.

The volunteerism in our organization is tremendous, but we still need you. As you’ll read in these pages, we have a dynamic organization with many ground breaking projects and partnerships in the works. My dad always said, “Many hands make light work,” and that has become a credo of mine.

There were many hands—more than 100 pair, actually—that contributed to the creation of this issue of the magazine. Many hands are the reason that NABA has grown its membership by +77% in the past five years. Many hands are why NABA has been able to increase the size of this magazine from 48 to 64 pages during recent years and for the past five issues, even produced “bonus-sized” 80-page issues. Many hands are what made our 50th convention in Milwaukee this summer a spectacular event, attended by more people—by far—than any previous NABA convention.

The more I have gotten involved with NABA, the more rewarding it has been for me. That sounds like a cliché, but it is true. The rich friendships and quality mentoring that have come through my involvement with NABA never ceases to amaze me.

Thank you for being a member of NABA. I hope that you will think about becoming one of the “many hands” that help guide NABA into the future.

If you have a story idea for this magazine, we make producing it easy. If you have an interest in helping NABA in any capacity, please contact me at ken@consumertruth.com. I know you will be glad you did.

Happy collecting!

Ken@consumertruth.com

Exciting things continue to happen at NABA! VIDEO

Danny Bora — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 23:41:27 GMT

Those of you who were at the convention in Milwaukee saw camera crews wandering the halls and some of you participated in video interviews. The NABA Board of Directors wanted to make a video celebrating NABA, its 50^th convention and a new and dynamic partnership with the Mill / Cone Top Museum. The video would be for both the enjoyment of you, our members, and also for use as a recruiting tool for our rapidly-growing organization.

The resulting video production (see video link below) was completely and incredibly generously underwritten by NABA member Chris Moore, who is the man behind “The Mill” project in Vicksburg, Michigan (near Kalamazoo). He is transforming an old, abandoned paper mill into a major entertainment complex featuring a hotel, restaurants, a music venue, a brewery, a distillery, and more.

Importantly for NABA, as we announced at the convention in Milwaukee, it will include the Cone Top Breweriana Museum. This museum is in partnership with NABA and will showcase Chris Moore’s outstanding and extensive collection, in addition to providing NABA members with an opportunity to put on displays of their own on a rotating basis. And what’s more, because Chris is the developer and owner of this complex, there will be no expenditure required of NABA to fund the museum.

The partnership with The Mill / Cone Top Museum presents an amazing new chapter for NABA and one that we are certain will accelerate the growth and vitality of our venerable organization. As he mentions in the video, Chris hopes to see the Cone Top Museum become “NABA’s front door.” We are very excited to have the museum provide that kind of presence, visibility and opportunity for our organization!

Please stay tuned for more news in the Breweriana Collector magazine as this exciting new partnership evolves.

Your NABA Board of Directors

NABA President John Ferguson Retires

Danny Bora — Sat, 04 Sep 2021 12:58:28 GMT

After seven years of service as NABA president, John Ferguson (Indianapolis, IN) is retiring. At the conclu-sion of NABA’s 50th Anniversary convention (July 28-31) in Milwaukee, current vice president Ken Quaas (Las Vegas, NV) will succeed John as president. Ken has been leading NABA’s membership growth efforts and is the Editorial Director of the Breweriana Collector magazine, NABA’s most important asset to its members.

Mike Michalik (Frederick, MD) will take over the Vice President’s role. Mike also has been integral to the huge membership increases NABA has experienced in the past few years and oversees NABA’s convention efforts. NABA’s long-time Treasurer, Jim Kaiser (Washington, MI), will remain in that role but will be assist-ed by one of the Board of Directors, Joe Gula (Indianapolis, IN), who also is this year’s Convention Chair.

Lisa Allen (Thomasville, PA) has been unanimously nominated to the Board. She brings great enthusiasm as both leader of our Membership Committee and in directing NABA’s revamped convention auction this year, our first in partnership with Morean Auctions.

Goals accomplished!

During John Ferguson’s presidency, NABA has accomplished or exceeded the annual goals set forth by the Board of Directors. These include:

Growing membership by more than 60% in the past 5 years.

Increasing the number of local chapter affiliates from 22 to 47 in the same time span.

Improving and expanding the Breweriana Collector magazine from 48 to 64 pages (and four consecutive 80-pagers to celebrate our 50th)!

Revamping the website and adding a tremendous amount of current and historical content to make it a true asset to the membership. This could not have been accomplished without NABA’s outstanding webmaster, Dan Bora (Chesterfield, MI).

Three consecutive conventions of record-setting attendance (including the 50th in Milwaukee this year).

NABA also has retained many members for 20+ years

NABA continues to experience tremendous growth not only in the Midwest, but also the Northeast and West. The goals of the club are to continue to support and build the breweriana collecting hobby, especially at the local chapter level.

The 2022 Convention will be held from Aug 3-7 in Pittsburgh. If you are not already a NABA member, we would love to have you join!
Click Here to find out how.

Welcome A-1 Chapter!

Danny Bora — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 12:16:05 GMT

NABA proudly announces our newest local chapter partnership, joining with the A-1 Chapter of Arizona, our 46th chapter. Welcome to the A-1 Chapter!

1960's Stroh Promo Film "Fire Brewing Story"

Danny Bora — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 21:26:19 GMT

Welcome the Big Sky Chapter

Danny Bora — Mon, 11 Jan 2021 21:28:48 GMT

NABA proudly announces our newest local chapter partnership, joining with the Big Sky Chapter of Montana. There are many great collectors in that beautiful neck of the woods. A big welcome to Big Sky as NABA's 45th chapter!

President's Message

Danny Bora — Sun, 27 Dec 2020 16:33:59 GMT

The challenging year of 2020 is finally over, and we have a new, and I am hoping, brighter year ahead. Many of us have missed the good times and camaraderie that come with seeing each other and sharing stories at our “beer show” gatherings. Happily, there were a few outdoor events that were safely held this Fall. It is my strong hope that we will be able to resume a more normal schedule, and, importantly, hold our NABA 50th Convention in Milwaukee, from July 28th-31st!

NABA Bats 1000

Now for some good news about 2020. We reached our membership goal by exceeding 1000 members! This is truly a revitalized organization with a talented and energetic Board of Directors who are focused on accomplishment. For perspective, we are now back at the membership levels we hit during our “heyday” 20+ years ago and have increased by +48% in the past 5 years.

The Handsome Waiter in the Heartland is joined by a host of breweriana collectors at the IBC Chapter show in Indianapolis, IN on October 31, 2020. From left: Jim TenEyck, Greg Gerke, Todd Morton, Don Hardy (BCCA VP), Beer Dave Gausepohl, Clayton Emery, Rick Natter, NABA and IBC Chapter President John Ferguson, Carey Williams, and Doug Groth.

This Magazine

There is no doubt that a big part of our club’s vitality is this magazine, where our members can contribute. And I am happy to say that you have been, in droves. In the Fall, we did a special 80-page issue, up from our usual 64-page publication, which itself had been increased from 48 pages as of Spring, 2019. Your tremendous contributions to this Winter issue quite literally forced us to make the investment to again extend this issue to 80 pages.

Amazingly once again, more than 100 members were involved in creating this issue and the interest and enthusiasm for this publication continues to grow. As usual, we have first-time authors, like Rusty Long, Ken Jones, Ben Kadow, and Allen Kirgan, as well as many members who have contributed again and again. Got an idea for an article? Just reach out to our Editorial Director, Ken Quaas, at Ken@consumertruth.com. We make the whole process easy!

NABA 2021 Convention

The 2021 Convention marks our 50th, and we will be celebrating where it all began — in Milwaukee. Our meeting will be at the recently renovated Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee/ Waukesha, which has an ideal set-up and where we successfully held two prior conventions (1996 and 2004). We sent out an email blast to the membership in the Fall about registering for the convention and the response has been terrific. Eighty percent of the rooms we reserved are already taken and we are requesting more as we expect a sellout. Please see the info on page 55 and make your reservations today. This 50th Convention is truly an event you won’t want to miss, so mark your calendars now for July 28th-31st.

Local chapters

Our 44 chapters—and we will be adding more in 2021—are the vitality of this organization and our hobby. I realize this, being very involved in the IBC Chapter here in Indiana. NABA’s aim is to support our chapters wherever and whenever we can. We will list your shows in the events page of this magazine, promote them on our highly active Facebook page, and feature you on our revamped website—all at no cost. Please reach out to me or our Chapter Liaison, Darla Long at bluffcitybrews9@gmail.com when we can help your chapter.

I hope you stay in good health, and to once again see you at a show in 2021.

Cheers!

Fergkate@comcast.net

The Handsome Waiter out West, at the Western Regional Show in Oakland, CA on November 14, 2020. Pictured, safely masked are from left, NABA Board Member Mike Michalik, NABA Vice President Ken Quaas, and NABA members Keith Kerschner (BCCA Presi ent), Charlie Smith, and Ken Harootunian, who did a tremendous job organizing the show’s events.

The Mill at Vicksburg | Brewery Museum Roundtable Discussion

Danny Bora — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 02:38:17 GMT

Approximately 15,000 square feet of The Mill will be allocated to the Brewery Museum. The museum will be a destination for serious collectors and casual visitors alike to discover one of the country’s most extensive breweriana collections.

In the early to mid-twentieth century, regional breweries built brand awareness with art consisting of motion beer signs, tap handles, neon signs and more. To collectors, this memorabilia is affectionately known as breweriana—a reminder of good times, craftsmanship, regional Americana, and of course, iconic long-forgotten beers.

If you have brewery artifacts you think we might be interested in please send all inquiries to curator@millmuseums.com.

To learn more about our project and the future museum visit https://vicksburgmill.com/brewery-museum/

Convention 50 Update

Danny Bora — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 21:50:12 GMT

Let's kick off our 50th Anniversary a little early! You can now officially book your room for NABA 2021- Milwaukee. We have secured a rate of $109 per night at The Ingleside in Pewaukee. Don't miss the BIGGEST EVENT in NABA's history!

Click Here to Reserve Your Room

Barry Travis talks NABA and breweriana finds !

Danny Bora — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 21:34:16 GMT

Barry Travis

President's Message

Danny Bora — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 01:56:29 GMT

I hope you all are staying well during these challenging pandemic times! The summer months have sadly, but understandably, only produced a few shows to attend, and I know we all are missing the good times and camaraderie that come with seeing each other and sharing stories at our “beer show” gatherings.

I attended a show hosted by NABA member Jon Newberry at his Wiedemann Brewery in St. Bernard/ Cincinnati, OH. This event, largely arranged by NABA’s Queen City and Miami Valley Chapters, was well attended. And yes, masks and social distancing were recognizable. I know we all yearn for a return to some semblance of normalcy, and hope it happens soon.

NABA Survey Success: Now, how about some good news? It’s easy to say that the best news about NABA is the active and generous participation of you, our terrific members, in this club! In June, we asked our membership to complete an emailed survey about the convention as well as what they think is working and what should be changed about the club.

What’s clearly working is membership interest in NABA, because an astonishing 45% – 433 members – answered the survey. Your opinions were both clear-cut and instrumental in guiding your NABA Board on our decision to cancel the Convention. We also got some terrific feedback on what you value most about NABA and things we can change for the better. Please see page 8 for complete reporting on the survey. Your responses and suggestions are invaluable toward guiding the Board in setting priorities and developing strategies going forward.

NABA 2021 Convention: The 2021 Convention marks our 50th, and we will be celebrating in the city where it all began: Milwaukee. Our meeting will be at the recently-renovated Ingleside Hotel in Waukesha, which has an ideal set-up and where we successfully held two prior conventions in 1996 and 2004. And yes, we will have all the rooms together to encourage the kind of room-to-room trading we all love.

This 50th Convention is truly an event you won’t want to miss, so mark your calendars now for July 28th-31st. Chairman Joe Gula and Co-chair Mike Michalik are already making great plans for this gala celebration. We all hope the Covid situation is in the rear view mirror by then.

NABA appointments: Those who regularly attend our conventions know that Board of Director elections are part of the agenda. Since Pittsburgh was cancelled, elections were not formally held. The good news is that we have retained all our valuable Board of Director members for the next year.

You’ll also see on our masthead in this issue that George Baley, by unanimous vote of the NABA Board, was elected both Director Emeritus and our first Club Historian. A past president and editor of this magazine, George has done it all for NABA and was awarded our highest honor, the Herbert A. Haydock Founder’s Award, in 2014. His new appointments are additional well-deserved honors, which recognize his continued contributions to NABA.

Tom Curran, who splits his time between Wisconsin and Arizona, also accepted the Board’s invitation to join our stellar Membership Committee. Tom is a long-time NABA member and valued contributor to NABA, including as a writer for this magazine.

Norm Jay: Time marches on and inevitably, we lose members who pass on. We try to memorialize them in our “Taps” section of this magazine, which in this issue, sadly includes four members, including Norm Jay. A past president of NABA and Director Emeritus, Norm did so much to help build this organization over the years and his good cheer will be missed by the many NABA members who called Norm a friend.

This Magazine: The NABA Board voted unanimously to give back to our membership by spending the extra money to create this special 80-page issue to kick-off our 50-year celebration. It was only in the Spring of 2019 that we expanded from 48 to 64 pages, and 80 pages was not even imagined.

And what’s most amazing is that we could have made this issue even bigger. Why? Because of the overwhelming interest from and willingness of you, our NABA members, to contribute to our magazine. More than 100 members were involved in creating this issue and the interest and enthusiasm for this publication continues to grow. We are sincerely grateful for the time and effort of so many of you who are willing to participate in making this magazine one for all to enjoy!

Editor Lee Chichester and Editorial Director, Ken Quaas, have built a great team of writers and have established a new Editorial Board, consisting of Dave Alsgaard, Joel Gandt, and Mike Paul. This group will continue to help in the overall assembly and editing of the magazine, as we move to constantly improve and bring you the great stories of our hobby.

In closing, let me say that I hope you stay safe and in good health, but I hope also to see you at a show sometime soon. In the meantime, sit back, relax, and enjoy this magazine!

John Ferguson, President - Fergkate@comcast.net

POSTPONED UNTIL APRIL - 2021 Blue-Gray Show

Danny Bora — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 22:18:34 GMT

DOWNLOAD FLYER HERE:
Blue Gray Show 2021.pdf

2020 NABA Convention Cancelled !

Danny Bora — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 00:51:20 GMT

Dear NABA Members:

It is with great disappointment that your NABA Board of Directors is announcing the cancellation of this year’s annual Convention. This will mark the first time in 49 years that our cherished annual event will not be held. Given the COVID-19 pandemic and the danger of another surge in the virus, we do not want to risk the health and safety of our members.

This Board decision was unanimous and strongly supported by our membership in the recent survey we conducted, where nearly half of the entire membership responded. Many thanks to all of the members who took the time to share their thoughts! We would not have wanted to make such a momentous decision without the strong consent of our members.

Before Covid, the 2020 Convention was set to be our biggest and best ever. With more than 250 new members added to the NABA roster in the past 30 months we had anticipated a very large turnout. Chairman Mike Michalik and his team had set up an outstanding schedule of house tours, a bus tour of breweries past and present, a new Friday night “speakeasy” event and a variety of interesting seminars. We had all the rooms together on a few floors and anticipated outstanding room-to-room trading. And there were some special surprises for the auction, too.

Much of our membership growth has come from the East Coast, and the Pittsburgh location was proving to be a huge draw based on early registrations. That’s why we are re-scheduling with the same great plans at the same great hotel in Pittsburgh, two years from now, in 2022.

For those of you who already have registered for this year’s now cancelled Convention, you will receive a full refund and of course still receive your free commemorative tin-over-cardboard sign. We will not be mailing them out due to expense, but we do have a list of everyone who already had registered and will make a concerted effort to hand them out at various shows, etc.

In addition, we have cancelled all the hotel room reservations at the Doubletree that were made as a part of the NABA group, so you need not worry about cancelling your hotel reservation if you already have made one.

As for next year, our 50th will be in Milwaukee – where the founding of the club and our first convention all began. Mark your calendars for July 28-31st 2021 – our 50th will be the biggest celebration in NABA history! We have booked the newly-renovated Ingleside Hotel in Waukesha, a Milwaukee suburb for this event. Many long-time NABA members will recall that we held highly successful conventions there in 1996 and 2004.

Thank you for your support of NABA and the decision to cancel the Convention in the wake of the pandemic. Like you, we hope that life returns to normal again soon and we can once again resume our breweriana gatherings. In the meantime, we wish you all good health and hope you stay safe!

Sincerely,

NABA Board of Directors

John Ferguson, President

Ken Quaas, Vice President

James Kaiser, Treasurer

Dave Alsgaard, Recording Secretary

John Stanley, Executive Secretary

John Bittermann, Director

Paul Cervenka, Director

Joe Gula, Director

Darla Long, Director

Mike Michalik, Director

Matthew Olszewski, Director

Don Roussin, Director

Barry Travis, Director

Christopher Watt, Director

Remembering Norm Jay

Danny Bora — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 20:11:00 GMT

We are extremely sad to notify you of the passing of Norm Jay, a stalwart in the breweriana hobby who was greatly admired for his knowledge, collection and sense of humor.

Norm was a past president of NABA from 1999-2002 and was currently our director emeritus. We were privileged to profile Norm in the Summer, 2016 issue of the NABA Breweriana Collector magazine. Attached is that article, for your reference.

As many of you are aware, Norm, well into his 80’s, was still regularly attending shows and the NABA Conventions up until recently. He will be sorely missed.

As John Stanley so aptly summarized it, “We lost a great guy.”

New Historical Marker Recognizes Early Nineteenth Century Brewery

Danny Bora — Tue, 26 May 2020 21:44:38 GMT

Nashville, Tennessee • May 26, 2020 — A new historical marker recognizing the Brewery at Mill Creek was recently installed by Metro Nashville Public Works at Elm Hill Pike and Massman Drive.

The brewery was founded by Arthur Redmond, a European brewer, who immigrated to Nashville in 1815. He established a small brewery (often referred to as “the brewery at Mill Creek” and bakery on Chicken Pike (now Elm Hill Pike) along the east side of Mill Creek. He brewed porter and ale using grain purchased from local farmers.

The opposite side of the historical marker depicts an actual 1815 advertisement for consideration in the Nashville Whig to purchase barley for the brewery. Redmond also received a US Patent for “brewing improvements with a steam apparatus” in 1819.

Jessica Reeves, historic preservationist with the Metro Historical Commission, stated: “As the craft beer scene in Nashville continues to grow, I think it is exceptional that we are still honoring the history of beer-making in Nashville. Every new marker that we install just adds to the richness of our understanding of early life in Middle Tennessee and the integral part that brewing had in it. The Historical Commission is so thankful to have the support of community partners like Scott Mertie, who is a tireless advocate for remembering our past, especially when it comes to beer.”

This is the fourth brewery-related historical marker commissioned by Scott Mertie and his wife, Candy:

1. The Nashville Brewery marker was erected on 6^th Avenue South at the original location of the Nashville Brewing Company (1859-1890) and the Wm. Gerst Brewing Company (1890-1954).
2. The Germantown Brewery District marker is located on 5^th Ave North. It recognizes the four neighborhood breweries that operated in Germantown in the 1860s (this marker was destroyed by the March 2020 tornado, but there are plans to replace it).
3. The Nashville Porter and Ale Brewery marker is located at 1901 Charlotte Ave, which was originally established in 1815.

Mertie is a local healthcare executive that dabbles in Nashville’s brewing history during his free time. He is the author of Nashville Brewing (Arcadia Publishing; 2006) and owner of the Nashville Brewing Company, which has won numerous awards for their traditional German-style lagers.

Contact: Scott R. Mertie

Phone: 615-943-8855

Email: scott@nashvillebrewing.com

Website: www.nashvillebrewing.com

Brewery at Mill Creek Historical Marker	Located at Elm Hill Pike and Massman Drive
The Nashville Brewery Historical Marker	Located at Sixth Avenue South and Mulberry
Germantown Brewery District Historical Marker	Located at Fifth Avenue North and Madison
Germantown Brewery District	Historical Marker (post tornado)

Nashville Porter and Ale Brewery Historical Marker
Located at Charlotte Avenue and 19^th Avenue North

President's Message - Summer 2020

Danny Bora — Thu, 21 May 2020 16:39:14 GMT

Greetings to all fellow captives

Strange days, indeed.

I do hope everyone is faring as well as possible during this COVID-19 crisis and that things will return to something resembling normal in the very near future. Difficult times like these make one aware of how important family and friends are, especially as we endure a forced separation from many of them.

A challenge for the hobby.

Although necessary to ensure safety, it has been sad to see the cancellation of so many great breweriana shows across the country, especially the many held during Spring that help pull us collectors together again and out of the winter doldrums. We are sad that our good friends at ABA/ECBA were forced to cancel their first combined annual meeting, but fully empathize with their reasoning. Your NABA Board believes that local chapters and shows are the lifeblood of breweriana collecting and the building blocks of the camaraderie that is such a special and valued feature of our hobby.

June 30th decision on holding our Convention.

We earnestly hope to still be able to hold our Convention in Pittsburgh beginning July 29. Your NABA Board will make the final decision and announce it to the membership on June 30th, a month prior to the planned start date. This is as late as we can delay the decision without paying hotel fees. Delaying until the 30th not only will give us more information on which to base our decision, but also, still gives our members enough time to plan travel arrangements.

Your safety is paramount.

If we do move ahead with holding the Convention, we have planned a number of new safety guidelines to accommodate social distancing and sanitation There is nothing more important to us than the well-being of our members and our decision will be guided with that imperative in mind. Convention chair Mike Michalik and his team have put together tremendous plans.

Cancellation = Full refund.

But in the unfortunate event that the Convention is canceled, full refunds will be issued to those who already have signed up early to get their free tin-over-cardboard commemorative signs.

NABA continues to grow!

Despite the pandemic, our membership continues to increase, and we welcome not only our many new members, but also our 43rd chapter, the long-established Hawkeye Chapter. Our chapter growth has almost doubled from 23 just two years ago and we hope to have 50 chapters under the NABA umbrella by year’s end.

Our best wishes to Norm Jay.

Our Director Emeritus, Norm Jay, of Glen Ellyn, IL, has been ailing. Your NABA Board of Directors sent him a beautiful signed card, hand-created by Board member Barry Travis. Norm is a past president and much beloved part of NABA, and has been a mainstay at local chapter shows in the Midwest and at our national Convention for many years. Godspeed, Norm! Now as much as ever, we wish you good health and safety during these challenging times!

The Handsome Waiter can’t “wait” until the
breweriana shows resume! Here he is with
(from left) John Ferguson, Ken Quaas,
and Joe Germino at the Blue & Gray Show
on February 13, 2020 in Herndon, VA.

John Ferguson, President - Fergkate@comcast.net

You asked for it. We listened! 3 Years for $90.00

Danny Bora — Mon, 11 May 2020 18:39:02 GMT

NABA is offering a special deal on dues – three years for $90 – which is $15 off the annual price of $35 per year. Just go to the “Join NABA” tab on this website to find out how to join or renew your membership!

Now as much as ever, we thank you for your membership and wish you good health and safety during these challenging times!

President's Message - Spring 2020

Danny Bora — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 20:14:59 GMT

Spring greetings to our NABA members across the country! And I’m happy to report that there are more of you now than there have been since the late 1990s. In the past two years, our club has been rebuilt and energized. Our magazine has expanded from 40 to 64 pages. We have brought back our printed directory, by popular demand. And our last two Conventions, in Madison and Cincinnati, have set attendance records.

We’ve also had some incredible growth in chapter affiliations. In the past couple of years, we’ve almost doubled our number of chapters from 23 to 42. The most recent chapter additions since our last issue are Chesapeake Bay of Maryland, Officer Suds of Utica, NY, and Cascade from the Pacific Northwest. We are thrilled to add these great chapters and firmly believe local chapters and shows are the lifeblood of our hobby and pledge to do all we can to promote them.

NABA has a revitalized Board of Directors who are working hard to grow our organization and hobby. The incredible Danny Bora has re-built our website into a powerful asset to our members, with easy digital access to back issues of this magazine and all the latest news on NABA as well as breweriana shows and events across the country. Please check it out at www.nababrew.com.

What’s next? NABA members will be gathering from July 29-Aug 1 for our 49th Annual Convention in Pittsburgh—and we have some amazing events planned. We have three phenomenal home tours, a great historic and craft brewery bus tour, the Brewmaster’s dinner being conducted by a world-class beer expert, room-to-room trading, educational seminars, our exclusive auction, craft beer tastings, the annual banquet, a new Speakeasy after-party featuring live jazz music and craft cocktails, public trade show, lunch and—for those interested—a Pirates/Cardinals baseball game Saturday evening. The Convention team is led by Mike Michalik and Chris Watt with Iron City Beer as the official sponsor and Penn Brewery joining the sponsorship team. Let me put it simply: You need to be there!

Elections are part of the annual gathering and 2018-2020 Board of Director members John Bittermann, Paul Cervenka, Darla Long, and Mike Michalik have raised their hands for another 2-year term. We also have added Matthew Olszewski—a well-regarded hobbyist and founder of the 5000+ member Breweriana Buy Sell and Trade Facebook page—to our Board (see photo below). Your NABA officers’ terms expire this August and I am glad to report that Ken Quaas, Jim Kaiser, Dave Alsgaard, and myself are game for another two years of NABA growth. If anyone wishes further information about board participation, please email me at fergkate@ comcast.net.

Sadly, our wonderful BC editor, Lee Chichester, plans to retire soon, as of the Winter 2021 issue. But she is assisting in finding someone to help do what she does. Notice I did not say “replace” her, because that would be impossible. Lee has been instrumental in making this magazine the best in the hobby and will be hugely missed. But we are fortunate to have the editorial leadership of Ken Quaas and great staff of writers in place, so the BC should not miss a beat. Thanks Lee!

Our Handsome Waiter membership banner has been showing up everywhere these days, traveling to as many shows as possible, thanks to our great Membership Committee. The Waiter is so busy, I can’t keep up with his travels.

The Handsome Waiter and NABA support local breweriana shows. Above left: Board member Barry Travis and Membership Committee member Stevan Miner at the Hamm’s Beer Club show in Medina, MN, on Feb 15.

On a sour note, we have spent a good deal of time investigating the legitimacy (or lack thereof) of some suspect mirrored signs that have surfaced in the past year. I am very pleased that the national clubs worked closely to jointly investigate this situation and keep our members informed and protected. See pg. 54 of the spring issue for the investigation’s details. Make sure to sign up for the Convention and reserve your hotel room today in Pittsburgh! Rooms are going fast.

I look forward to seeing you then, if not sooner at a local chapter show.

John Ferguson, President

Fergkate@comcast.net

Buckeye Chapter Member Don Monroe on WTOL News

Danny Bora — Sun, 15 Mar 2020 22:49:23 GMT

Don Monroe Jr. Did an excellent job promoting the hobby and the Buckeye Show.

WW II Veteran Stories – Vince Speranza – “The Beer Run”

Danny Bora — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 01:34:16 GMT

WWII Veteran Vince Speranza describes his famous beer run for his wounded friend.

PBS Presents: Legacy List - Seidel Family (Episode 5)

Danny Bora — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 00:37:02 GMT

Episode 105 — Seidel Family / Norristown, PA

When Steve Seidel Senior of Norristown, Pennsylvania passed away recently he left his two adult children a 300-year-old farmhouse full of beer memorabilia and countless other pop culture items. The task of cleaning out the house and barn before selling the property was overwhelming and the kids turned to Matt and his team for help. Not only did Matt need to do an inventory of all the items in the house but he had to find a handful of cherished memorabilia that the children, Becky and Steve Jr. wanted to keep to remind them of their dad. Matt’s strategy was to divide and conquer. He searched the barn with Avi while Jaimie and Mike go through a house jammed from floor ceiling with beer collectables. There were cans, trays, bottles, posters and more. In fact, there were so many items that Matt decided to bring in some beer experts to go through everything and put a price tag on the collection. The experts found some rare items that will bring top dollar. That makes Matt happy because he knows Becky and Steve Jr. want to use some of the money they get from selling the house and everything in it to provide for their two younger half-brothers. Besides beer memorabilia, Matt and his team finds lots of other interesting things. A collection of political campaign pins, an old barber chair, a classic Corvette and something none of them had ever seen before. A bazooka. Seems that Steve Sr. was a wild man who collected lots of really cool stuff. With the house cleared out and the moving vans packed, Matt shows Becky and Steve the Legacy List items he’s found. It’s an emotional moment. The house may be sold but the kids now have a few cherished items that will remind them of their dad.

James Koerber Interview by Larry Bell at Bell’s Brewery

Danny Bora — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 22:57:58 GMT

Free TOC for Early Convention Registration

Danny Bora — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 21:45:51 GMT

New Year - New News !

Danny Bora — Sat, 11 Jan 2020 13:30:51 GMT

Happy New Year Everyone,

2020 has started out with a Bang !

First , NABA is thrilled to announce that the 45-member Chesapeake Bay Chapter of Maryland has elected to come aboard as our landmark 40th chapter!

Second, NABA is extremely happy to announce the latest addition to our Board of Directors: Matthew Olszewski of Syracuse, NY. Matt is a well- respected, knowledgeable and highly-valued member of our breweriana collecting community and has done a terrific job in his role on our Membership Committee. We are proud to have him join our stellar team to help further our efforts to build NABA, and most importantly, bring energy, knowledge, camaraderie and growth to our hobby.

Pittsburgh Brewers Guild joins as NABA Convention Co-Sponsor

Danny Bora — Tue, 07 Jan 2020 03:46:48 GMT

NABA is proud to announce that the PBG(Pittsburgh Brewers Guild) will be a co-sponsor of our 2020 Convention in Pittsburgh. PBG represents over 30 craft breweries in the Pittsburgh area. PBG already assisted us in getting Master Cicerone, Brian Reed, to host our Brewmaster's Dinner and they will be providing the local beer for that event, as well as Hospitality . In addition, PBG will be pouring area beers at our Craft Beer Tasting prior to the Banquet. Many of you will take the time to visit Pittsburgh Breweries during your stay and the PBG website makes planning that easy. Visit https://pghbreweryguide.com/ and select what breweries that you'd like to visit and an itinerary will be mapped out for you. Pittsburgh's Beer Community is truly a family! As PBG's motto states "PITTSBURGH IS A BEER-DRINKING TOWN, & WE’RE ALL NEIGHBORS HERE."

The NABA Speakeasy

Danny Bora — Sat, 21 Dec 2019 05:06:36 GMT

We'd like to announce a completely new convention event, The NABA Speakeasy. The Speakeasy will serve as a wrap party for the convention. We took inspiration from John Bain's Back Bar Room at the Blue/Gray Show and expanded it to an entertainment venue. The Speakeasy will open immediately after Friday's Banquet and will feature Prohibition era cocktails, collaboration beers brewed exclusively for NABA and a pianist playing music from the 20's and 30's, all under dim lights. We didn't hire just any piano player but none other than the great Tom Roberts. Tom is a Pittsburgh native and is internationally known. He is considered one of the finest players of older Jazz styles. He has played notable venues including The Tonight Show, Carnegie Hall as well as The Prairie Home Companion. Tom arranged and performed the music for the soundtrack of Martin Scorsese’s film The Aviator, starring Leonardo di Caprio, as well as several titles for the film DeLovely, the Cole Porter biopic. NABA members get all of this and you are getting it for free. All of the expenses for the NABA Speakeasy have been covered by NABA member and Pittsburgh collector, Chip Echnoz and Pittsburgh Brewing owner, Cliff Forrest. Join us on July 31st for a very memorable night of song & drink!

Check out the video below of Tom Roberts playing at a music conference in Switzerland.

Historic Jackson Brewery Fire

Danny Bora — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 23:37:41 GMT

Flames tore through the former Jackson Brewery in OTR Sunday morning, sending smoke into the air, which could be seen and smelt miles away.

President’s Message - Winter 2020

Danny Bora — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 02:50:36 GMT

John Ferguson, President

Fergkate@comcast.net

Winter greetings to our NABA family! I have found that one of the best ways to stay warm during winter weekends is by staying indoors—especially at a Breweriana show. And there are plenty of them coming up—just look at the fine collection of shows listed on pages 58 & 59 of this magazine. Your NABA Board of Directors firmly believes that local shows are the lifeblood of this hobby. To be sure, there’s a lot of breweriana treasure that can be found in online auctions, especially those put on by Dan Morean and Glenn Miller, both NABA members and loyal sponsors of this magazine. These auctions supplement, but do not replace the camaraderie, information sharing, and interesting finds that turn up at breweriana shows.

Local Support

Even when I don’t find something at a show, I’m always glad I went. There are old acquaintances to renew and new ones to make, and even though I’ve been at this hobby for a long time, I invariably learn something new. Those are the things that are such an important part of this hobby. I’ve been fortunate enough to attend quite a few shows in recent months. These have included the Cleveland-area show in October led by NABA Membership Committee member Clayton Emery, which is known as the Eastern Great Lakes Brewery Collectables Show and sponsored by Michigan, Buckeye & Lake Erie chapters. In November I went to the Three Rivers chapter show in Ft. Wayne, IN.

Also in November, NABA VP Ken Quaas and I hit the West Coast for NABA member Ken Harootunian’s terrific show near Oakland, the Western Regional Beer Can & Breweriana Show, sponsored by the 49er Chapter. Ken’s hospitality is unparalleled, and after the show he arranged an outstanding tour of San Francisco’s Anchor Brewery, which as beer fans know, started the American craft beer revolution.

Chapter Growth

What’s the common denominator among all of these shows? Local chapter support! At NABA, we have a renewed dedication to not only support and help strengthen our existing chapters, but also to add new ones and help them grow. Working together, we can grow the hobby and our memberships on both the local and national levels. In 2018, NABA had 23 chapters. As of this writing, we now have 39, an amazing increase of more than 60%. In this issue, we celebrate our partnership with four new chapters:

• Columbine of Colorado

• Richbrau of Virginia

• Schell’s Border Batch from No. Iowa & So. Minnesota

• Spearman of Florida

Our 2020 goal is to double the 2018 total to 46 chapters. Board member and chapter liaison Darla Long and Board member/ Membership Committee chairman Mike Michalik have done a terrific job in both building chapter and individual memberships. Why should a local chapter partner with NABA? We can promote the chapter and its events in this magazine and on NABA’s website (www.nababrew.com) and our Facebook page. NABA also can send out email promotional messages to all our members in the local areas where the chapter events are being held.

And if you have other ideas on ways that we can promote your chapter, please let me know!

NABA is everywhere!

Historically, NABA’s base was in the Midwest, and we certainly have strength in numbers there. But much of our growth in the past few years has come from the East Coast, West Coast, and Texas. Maybe you’ve seen NABA’s increased presence, featuring our stand-up banners with the famous “Handsome Waiter” character, borrowed from the historic Hampden Brewing Co. of Massachusetts. Thanks to our Board members and terrific Membership Committee, the Waiter has been highly visible, appearing at shows from coast-to-coast (see pg. 41 in this issue). Where you see the banner, you will find a NABA member with information about our organization and how to join. We chose the Waiter character purposely, because we believe that NABA is here to “serve” the local chapters and the overall hobby.

Who’s the handsomest of them all? Posing with the Handsome Waiter, Nov. 2019 at Fallfest in Auburn, MA: from top left,Dave Reid, president of the Rusty Bunch chapter, NABA webmaster Dan Bora, NABA members Dave “Daev” Larazzolo and Jon Melillo, president of the Red Fox chapter,

Exciting Convention plans

To help serve our East Coast growth, NABA’s Annual Convention has moved eastward to Pittsburgh this year and Chair Mike Michalik and Co-Chair Chris Watt have plans for what promises to be our biggest Convention ever, to be held on July 29-August 1, 2020. Please see the informational ad on page 15 of this issue for all the exciting details, with much more to come in the Spring issue of this magazine. There are some amazing things planned, from some spectacular home tours on Tuesday, to a Wednesday filled with a carefully curated bus tour of historic and current breweries, followed by a special Brewmaster’s Dinner. By popular demand, Thursday is being set aside for room to room trading, with seminars running only from 9AM-noon. Friday has our Annual Auction followed by a Pittsburgh craft beer tasting and then our meeting/banquet. A new feature on Friday evening will be a special Speakeasy event, with more details on that to come. Our concluding day is Saturday, which will feature a heavily promoted trade show, open free to the public, from 9AM to 1PM. Instead of the Saturday night dinner, we will have a full luncheon after the show and then the opportunity to attend a Pirates/Cardinals baseball game at the beautiful PNC Park, where we have our own special section reserved. The cost for the game will include tickets, transportation, food, soft drinks, and beer. For those who choose not to attend the ballgame, Saturday’s hospitality room will remain open, with food and drink, as normal. Please reserve your hotel rooms now! Many thanks to Iron City and the Pittsburgh Brewing Co. for signing on as our official beer sponsor and to the Penn Brewery for joining as a co-sponsor of the Convention. And many thanks to you, our members, who are helping your chapters, NABA, and our hobby, grow. I hope to see you while you are staying warm at many of the winter breweriana shows.

Exciting House Tours Scheduled for Pittsburgh Convention on July 28

Danny Bora — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 22:59:42 GMT

When making NABA Convention plans, we advocate that you arrive early in Pittsburgh, because on Tuesday, July 28th, NABA is offering an extraordinary house tour itinerary.

Please note that registered members will need to be wearing their badges and to provide their own transportation for home admissions. NABA will provide addresses and directions.

First we'll tour the collection of James Mickinak. Jim showcases the most amazing, extensive and preeminent Rolling Rock collection. In addition, Jim has a stellar Western Pennsylvania breweriana collection. Jim's collection is housed in a separate building behind his home and features a full sized 1930's era bar and backbar. NABA guests will be treated to an open bar as Jim has hired a bartender for the day to serve us. Jim has also graciously offered to serve a lunch of pizza, wings & cake.

Next up is the spectacular collection of Chip Echnoz. This is truly a massive and museum-caliber collection encompassing Western Pa, Eastern Ohio and West Virginia Breweriana. Plans are to eventually house the collection at the renovated Pittsburgh Brewing Co. as a permanent museum that will be open to the public.

Our third stop will feature the collection of Matt Welch. Matt’s terrific collection specializes in TOC's and ROG's and spans multiple geographies. If a piece is rare and minty, it's on his radar. Matt's walls are filled with great breweriana that also includes neon, signs clocks and chalks.

Don’t miss your chance to personally view so many rare pieces of breweriana in one day than on Tuesday, July 28th. Be sure to make your plans now to join NABA this Summer in Pittsburgh!

Pabst Brewery Promotional 1939 Film: "Help Yourself"

Danny Bora — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 23:57:38 GMT

Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer: "Help Yourself" 1939 Pabst Brewing Company - Castle Films from Jeff Quitney on Vimeo.

Penn Brewery Joins NABA as Convention Sponsor

Danny Bora — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 21:43:22 GMT

NABA is very happy to announce that Penn Brewery has come on board as a co-sponsor of our Convention this summer in Pittsburgh from July 29-Aug 1, 2020. Penn joins our lead sponsor, Pittsburgh Brewing / Iron City and will be not only a beer provider, but also a part of our Wednesday Bus Tour of historic and current Pittsburgh breweries.

2020 Convention Hotel Booking

Danny Bora — Sat, 09 Nov 2019 02:17:46 GMT

You can book your rooms now for our 2020 Convention in Pittsburgh. $100 per night, includes Breakfast Buffet for 2! Plan on staying through Saturday and attending the Pirates/Cardinals game at PNC Park.

Click Here For Double Tree Reservations

LAST CALL FOR THE BALL KNOB BOOK!

Danny Bora — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 02:10:59 GMT

George Baley is still seeking ball knobs and help with pricing ball knobs for his latest, updated book on that topic. If you can help, we all would appreciate it, as this book will be a boon to the hobby. Just today he received a number of new submissions not seen in the previous edition. His deadline is Nov 3, so please reach out to him at: gbaley@comcast.net.

President's Message - Fall 2019

Danny Bora — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 17:38:24 GMT

Greetings once again from Indianapolis! If summer brings breweriana conventions, then with fall arrives a host of great shows. Along with attending our annual Convention in Cincinnati, I made a pilgrimage to Albuquerque for the BCCA CANvention. Congratulations to Paula Fatura, the new BCCA president. I am now looking forward to some of the Midwest chapter shows to take in the fall foliage and raise a glass with many of my fellow NABA members.

Regarding our own Convention…it was truly one for the ages in one of the most classic American beer towns, Cincinnati. We surpassed our record attendance in Madison last year and there were so many highlights – just read Tim Holian’s fine recap of the event in this issue.

NABA Notes: • The Convention’s annual Friday night banquet was packed with great announcements, including records set by NABA. Through much personal effort and donated time, the board and membership committee volunteers have grown our club by an amazing +225 members in just two years – that’s more than 33%. Our count is 900+ members with a goal of 1000 by year-end 2020. We have also added 8 chapters nationwide over the past year, and want to welcome 3 additional chapters since my last letter: Simon Pure and 12 Horse chapters from western NY; and the Cornhuskers of NE. NABA recognizes that the local chapters are the lifeblood of our hobby and we are happy to support them in any way: We warmly welcome you all to the NABA fold.

Banquet guests heard of the official renaming of our coveted Founder’s Award after Herb Haydock and it was awarded to the very deserving John Stanley, our irreplaceable executive secretary. And our number two recipient of the Bob Kay Writer’s Award was, very appropriately, Larry Moter, who has authored two fine contributions to this issue.
At the Convention, new Board member Joe Gula from Indianapolis was formally elected to fill outgoing Board member Kent Newton’s seat.

Kent, who was a longtime Board member and past vice-president, is a NABA treasure and will continue to chair the auction committee. Meanwhile, Don Roussin (MO), Barry Travis (MN), and Chris Watt (PA) were re-elected to two-year terms.

Our magazine’s quality speaks for itself and we are very thankful for the efforts of Lee Chichester, Ken Quaas, and all the volunteer member writers who bring this outstanding publication to you. A hearty welcome to first-time writer Greg Theberge, who shares his truly amazing collection of Narragansett breweriana in this issue.
Finally, our Convention T-shirts were a huge hit and sold out. Designed by Barry Travis and Beer Dave, we are producing a second batch by popular demand. Please email me at Fergkate@ comcast.net or order online at https://nababrew.com/naba-store/as soon as possible if you’d like to order one.

A Debt of Gratitude: I want to sincerely thank Beer Dave Gausepohl for a spectacular job as Convention chair, and the team of Scott Bristol, Dave Reed, Tom Waller, and Carey Williams, who helped pull everything at the 2019 Cincy Convention together.

2020: Pittsburgh is where NABA heads next for our annual gathering. Mike Michalik and Chris Watt have already done an amazing job putting together some very special activities for this event—you’ll be hearing much more as the year unfolds. Many thanks to Iron City and the Pittsburgh Brewing Co. for signing on as our official beer sponsor. Please make your reservations early—this one will be another record-breaker as our East Coast membership has soared!

2021 is a special year for NABA, as it will be our 50th Anniversary. We are now forming an Anniversary Committee to help plan and organize this once-in-a-lifetime celebration, and we are exploring the Milwaukee area for the gathering. Please let me know if you are interested in helping— we’d love to have you. It is an exciting time to be a NABA member! Happy collecting,

John Ferguson, President

Fergkate@comcast.net

NABA Partners with Pittsburgh Brewing Company !!

Danny Bora — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 22:22:44 GMT

_{From Ken Quass}

NABA is proud to announce its partnership with Pittsburgh Brewing Co and its iconic flagship, Iron City Beer. PBC will be the official beer sponsor of NABA's 2020 Convention in Pittsburgh. Here is the ad they created to announce this great news. Congratulations to convention chair Michael Michalik and co-chair CM Watt for helping to orchestrate this terrific alliance.

1956 Touring Carling Brewery Natick, MA

Danny Bora — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 15:02:40 GMT

Recently transferred film of the most modern brewery in the world (1956). Learn in detail how beer and ale are made at the Carling Plant in Natick, Massachusetts

President's Message - Summer 2019

Danny Bora — Sat, 22 Jun 2019 12:40:41 GMT

It’s summer and that means Convention time! And for NABA, it’s membership growth time.

I couldn’t be happier to report that NABA continues to grow our membership, and rapidly. I’d like to extend a special welcome to more than 30 new members in this quarter alone!

Some of the most significant growth has happened through the addition of 7 new chapters over the past 6 months. In this quarter we are proud to announce our new, official association with The Rusty Bunch, 49er, and Jersey Shore chapters. It is for the good of the hobby that NABA works to strengthen and affiliate the local chapters. That is where much of what’s special in this hobby gets started and we pledge to promote all of our chapters in this magazine, on our popular Facebook page, and on our newly revamped website: nababrew.com.

The Rusty Bunch have always been one of the leading organizations in our hobby in promoting knowledge, camaraderie, and of course, the thrill of the find. As they say on their Facebook page, they pursue “Old cans, trays, signs, neons, labels, bottles, foam scrapers, brewery history, dump digging...peeking into the cellars and attics of abandoned structures to reveal the treasures left behind...if you can dream it, we’ve seen it.”

The Northern California based 49er Chapter has also joined our ranks. Established in 1974, their membership extends throughout CA and NV. This group has had some famed collectors among its membership, and today boasts many of our hobby’s West Coast leaders.

Last but not least, we are honored to have the Jersey Shore chapter join NABA as our 31st chapter. If you’ve ever been to one of their annual costumed theme parties at a BCCA Canvention, then you know these folks know how to have a great time. They also know breweriana and are serious, dedicated, and educated collectors of artifacts created by the legendary New Jersey breweries (Ballantine, Krueger, Feigenspan, Hensler, Breidt, etc.).

New Membership Committee

Under NABA Board Member Mike Michalik’s leadership, we have assembled a Membership Committee of six geographically-dispersed breweriana collectors who are experienced and active in the hobby—perfect ambassadors for NABA. They are:

Dave Doxie – Central PA
Clayton Emery – Michigan
John Huff – Ohio
Robert Keasey – South Carolina
Stevan Miner – Minnesota
Matthew Olszewski – Upstate NY

See you in Cincinnati!

I hope by now you’ve made your reservations for our annual Convention in Cincinnati. This is going to be a blockbuster and reservations are way ahead of even last year’s record-setting pace. In fact, we had so much interest in the Bus Tour we had to add a second 55-person coach. As of this writing (mid-May) there are only 25 spaces left on the second bus. The tour includes lunch, libations, and one of the most fascinating tours of old breweries and long-forgotten lagering caves that you will ever experience. The Cincinnati Convention team, led by Beer Dave Gausepohl, has really outdone itself and the Brewmaster’s dinner on Wednesday night will also feature special treats.

Finally, we hope you continue to enjoy your first-rate magazine, newly-expanded to 64 pages. Many thanks to all the volunteers who put the time in to make it so special. In addition to the fantastic Cincinnati articles assembled by Lee Chichester, Ken Quaas, Mike Bartels, Rob Musson, and the Convention team, we have first-time writers Brent Laswell & Charlie Staats who present a terrific look at Pearl Brewery of San Antonio, and Tom Curran & Scott Butterfield exploring Walter’s of Pueblo, CO.

Zee you in Zincy!

John Ferguson, President

Fergkate@comcast.net

Membership Committee

Danny Bora — Wed, 22 May 2019 02:13:51 GMT

The NABA Board of Directors is thrilled to announce the formation of a membership committee comprised of some of the leading collectors and more importantly, all-around good guys in our great hobby. Many, many thanks to these NABA members for their willingness to help our club and hobby grow!

Michael Michalik, Chairman, Frederick, MD

Dave Doxie, Wernersville, PA

Clayton Emery, Manton, MI

John Huff, Temperance, MI

Robert Keasey Jr, Mooresville, NC

Stevan Miner, Winnebago, MN

Matthew Olszewski, Syracuse, NY

President's Message - Spring 2019

Danny Bora — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 21:08:34 GMT

Greetings to all and warm wishes that this Spring issue of the Breweriana Collector magazine also delivers warm weather and sunny skies! There is lots of news to share, and here are the highlights:

Great local shows in a challenging winter: This winter was a rough one on the weather front and challenged me to travel to some of the great breweriana shows from my home in Indianapolis. I missed shows in Frankenmuth, MI and in northern Virginia (The Rayner Johnson Memorial Blue & Gray Show) and the Hoosier Chapter’s annual “Cabin Fever Reliever.” But as of this writing I look ahead to The Queen City Chapter’s “Luck O’ the Irish” now in Cincinnati; and the ever-growing Buckeye Chapter’s show in Toledo. Many thanks to the chapters who put on events and bring warm life to our great hobby in the frigid cold of winter.

Supporting local chapters: Speaking of chapters, we told you in the last issue how NABA continues to co-sponsor more local chapters around the country. We believe the local chapters are the strength of the hobby and must be supported, which we will do in this magazine, on our website, and on our Facebook page. We are proud to announce our newest partnership is with the Lone Star chapter of Texas. Thanks to the efforts of Charlie Staats and his great group, you’ll be seeing more breweriana and brewery histories in these pages from the Lone Star state. Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events in the back of this magazine (and in some of our ads) and attend as many as you can to support our great hobby.
- 64 pages! Speaking of these pages, did you notice the hefty weight of this magazine? NABA members can now enjoy the largest and most extensive magazine in the hobby with the Breweriana Collector’s expansion to a whopping 64 pages! That’s an additional +24 pages full of breweriana and brewery history as compared to our Spring issue just three years ago. Thanks to efforts led by Vice President Ken Quaas and supported by Editor Lee Chichester and the BC staff, our issues will be filled with even more collector and brewery profiles, collector and brewery profiles, more pictures of beautiful breweriana, and greater geographical coverage.

Congratulations to first-time authors Steve Bergquist and Tom Raub!. Want to advertise here? Just contact our Executive Secretary (and advertising manager) John Stanley, at jfojrs@gmail.com.

Big Convention plans: We have big plans for what will be another great annual Convention. Mark your calendars to make the pilgrimage to Cincinnati, July 31 through August 3. Beer Dave Gausepohl, Tom Waller, Scott Bristoll, Dave Reed, and others are arranging a great event, which will include an amazing bus tour of the great old breweries (and their lagering caves) of the legendary Over the Rhine District—plus the added bonus of a visit to the famed American Sign Museum. See the story with more juicy details on pg. 46. There are just 53 seats on the bus that will sell out fast, so get your registrations in early!

Reserve your spot: For the first time, you can sign up and pay for the Convention on our newly-revamped website: www.nababrew.com. You also can fill out and mail in the form that came with this magazine. You can reserve your hotel room via the NABA website or by calling the Cincinnati Airport Marriott directly at 859- 586-0166 to get the special NABA room rate of $99 (with free parking and Wi-Fi). Many thanks go to our extraordinary webmaster, Dan Bora, for his terrific work on our website.

Finally, a sincere thank you to all for being NABA members. We also want to extend a warm welcome to our new members. NABA is committed to supporting your breweriana expertise and collecting, and to growing our great hobby. Happy Collecting!

John Ferguson, President

Fergkate@comcast.net

Update of the Ball Knob book

George J Baley — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 23:29:17 GMT

Progress is well under way to generate am update of the ball knob book.
Anyone having something to include is welcome to send me a note and participate in the project.

Madison brought out several hundred items to photograph. Correspondence is coninuing from interested collectors.

I plan to set up the stage for photographing anything that you might bring to the Convention in Cincinnati (KY) which will about finish the project(s).

At this point almost 1000 new additions have been added. Thanks to all who are contributing. If you have something not already included, send me a note/picture and I will work them into the project.

The next edition will be broken down into about 9 categories including traditional ball knobs, Kooler-Kegs, Side Winders, Daka-Ware, Newman Glass and Aluminum, Tin Cans, Figurals and more.

The statue book is a bit behind, as somedays I think I may be that one armed paper hanger!

George Baley gbaley@comcast.net

Great Things Happening !

Danny Bora — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 22:23:36 GMT

There are many great things happening at NABA to both help our organization grow and make it even more valuable to our members. Here are a few key examples:

Expanded magazine: The winter issue of the magazine will be a bit thicker. That’s right, we’ve expanded from 48 to 56 pages and plan to soon expand again to 64 pages. That means there will be more breweriana news, stories, profiles of our members and pictures of breweriana for you to enjoy!
New Chapters: We are delighted to have added four new local chapters to our roster! A warm welcome to all the members of the newly-formed Old Reading chapter of Reading, PA, as well as the Olde Frothingslosh chapter of Pittsburgh, the Congress chapter of Syracuse, NY and New England’s Pickwick chapter. As with all our chapters, we will promote them in the pages of this magazine, on our new website, on our Facebook page and through email “blasts” about their various shows and events. Want your event promoted? Just reach out to Executive Secretary John Stanley at JFO @mindspring.com.
New Website: Please enjoy our beautiful, newly-reconstructed website. It’s packed with information on NABA and its events and is designed to provide greater value to our members. Many thanks to our terrific new webmaster, Dan Bora!
New NABA brochures: We have created a new membership brochure that extols the virtues of NABA and includes an application for membership. Do you need some to distribute at shows, craft beer bars, breweries or among your chapter members? If so, just contact John Stanley, per his email address above.
Exciting Convention Plans: Our meeting in Madison last summer was such a success…but we are looking to top it in Cincinnati from July 31 – Aug 3! Beer Dave Gausepohl is chairing the convention and along with the help of the excellent Queen City chapter members is sure to put on an outstanding event! Book your room online here on this website (see Convention tab) or call the Cincinnati Airport Marriott directly at 859-586-0166 and be sure to get the special NABA room rate of $99 (with free parking and Wi-Fi).

HOLA !

Danny Bora — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 01:31:42 GMT

Hi Folks,

I'm Dan Bora, the new webmaster dude. Some of you know me , some don't...so...

I've been running the Rusty Bunch Website for over 20 years, also run, Michigan Chapter, Buckeye Chapter and Eastern Great Lakes Brewery Collectibles Show pages and formerly rebuilt and ran the BCCA website. Been Collecting since 1975, mostly Beer Cans but have a few Goebel pieces displayed.

I'm looking forward to helping in the NABA website rebuild and I think it's looking pretty darn good so far. Any questions or comments, feel free to comment below. (gotta be logged in to post)

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LAST CALL FOR THE BALL KNOB BOOK!

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HOLA !

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