I have a confession to make. Just like The Beer Professor himself, I too am a beer-loving philatelist. For this guest blog I want to combine my admiration for beer, its component ingredients, production and consumption, with my stamp collecting hobby. What? Did you have to look up ‘philately’ in your Funk and Wagnalls? The Beer Professor collected stamps of the British Isles as a wee lad. I collected (affordable) stamps from all over the world and I suspect that many budding geographers and historians did the same thing, learning a lot about the history, landscapes and culture of the places in the process.

But what about beer as the subject matter on stamps of the world? One of the best sources of information comes from proprietary data meticulously gathered and periodically updated by the American Topical Association (americantopicalassn.org), an organization devoted to assisting the specialized stamp collector keep up with stamps issued on given topics or themes. Most advanced collectors realize that trying to collect all stamps issued is impossible and even those issued solely by a particular country of interest would be quite difficult. So, most advanced collectors have elected instead to collect stamps dealing with particular topics or themes of interest to them. These themes could include (hound) dogs on stamps or even Elvis Presley on stamps (of which there are over 435 that have been issued worldwide by at least 55 different countries).

The American Topical Association (ATA) data include 135 stamps issued with beer-related themes as a focus dating from 1866 to the last update this past year (September 30, 2018). That number of stamps is, however, a bit misleading, as 66 of the 135 issued by the United States from 1866 through 1947 were beer revenue stamps that were required to be attached to each 32 gallon full barrel of beer (or on smaller-sized barrels ranging from 1/8th barrel (i.e., four gallons) to the half barrel (i.e., 16 gallons). The highest denomination beer revenue stamps were placed on the 64 gallon hogshead size (i.e., a double barrel). Of all of the beer revenue stamps issued by the US government, only one set contained an engraved image that was actually beer-related. That set was issued in 1875 and depicted “Bacchus serving the first fermented brew to man” (ATA Checklist 63: Beer 2018) [Figure 1]. If they didn’t include numerals representing the amount of the beer tax, all of the rest of the beer revenue stamps contained engravings of US presidents (e.g., Washington, Jefferson, Jackson), US Civil War heroes (e.g., Sherman, Farragut) or Secretaries of the Treasury and other overseers of the Senate Banking Committee (e.g., Hamilton, Corwin, Benton, Wright) (Scott 2017, 709-13).

Removing the 66 beer revenue stamps from the focus of this blog leaves 69 stamps that a collector would call commemoratives. These commemorative beer stamps were issued by 42 different countries, some with a long history of beer making and an active beer culture (e.g., Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Czech Republic).

Others were issued by countries that don’t immediately spring to mind when one thinks of places with an active beer culture (e.g., Costa Rica, Philippines, Argentina). Still others are issued by countries that Slemrod (2008) labelled “stamp panderers”—usually small, agricultural, poor countries that include many island nations and many in Africa that emerged from colonial rule since the 1960s. Stamp pandering countries commercialize their state sovereignty in order to generate income from stamp collectors abroad. Interestingly, since by law the USPS must pay for itself, the United States is also considered by Slemrod (2008) to be a stamp pandering nation! But, we’ve never pandered enough to celebrate beer on a non-revenue stamp—yet.

Two of the entities that have issued beer-related stamps are not really sovereign countries recognized by the larger world community or supranational organizations such as the United Nations. They include two of the Bantustan enclaves within South Africa—Bophuthatswana and Transkei.

So, while I can’t show all of the stamps related to beer or the production of its components (e.g., hops, malted barley, millet), I will try to show some stamps that illustrate the worldwide commemoration of beer.

Early Beer-related Stamps:. According to the ATA data, the oldest commemorative stamp related to a beer event was issued in 1942 by Nazi Germany to “honor” the 20th anniversary of those Nazi sympathizers killed in the uprising that brought Adolf Hitler to power—the (in)famous Munich beer hall putsch. Because only a Nazi “patriot” is depicted on the stamp and if you don’t read German you couldn’t understand what is being memorialized anyway, I will not show that repugnant stamp.

One that the ATA list missed (probably because beer is not clearly evident on the stamp) is one of my favorites—a 1947 Canadian stamp depicting the iconic “streamline moderne” shape of a Labatt’s beer delivery truck. If I were a Canadian kid during that era, I would certainly have wanted a toy model version of that truck for Christmas [Figure 2].

My final choice in the early group is a well-designed 1954 stamp from Costa Rica that illustrates the beer industry and its main ingredients in a simple engraved image [Figure 3].

Beer Stamps that are Out-of-Place: The first country that seems out-of-place is also the one that Slemrod (2008) chose to focus on in his provocative article entitled “Why is Elvis on Burkina Faso Postage Stamps?…”about the commercialization potential afforded chunks of the world’s territory because of state sovereignty. That commercialization could be relatively benign like stamp pandering or more nefarious like tax havens or money laundering operations. We would not, for example, expect a majority Muslim nation like Burkina Faso with that religion’s strict prohibitions against the consumption of alcoholic beverages to issue a stamp commemorating beer. Perhaps that is why their 2012 beer-related stamp doesn’t show an image of beer directly but rather the hearth and the cooking utensils used to prepare millet beer (vis-à-vis beer made from malted barley) for the approximately 38% of the country’s population that is not Muslim [Figure 4].

Two of the entities issuing beer-related stamps are not recognized by the United Nations as legitimate sovereign countries—Bophuthatswana and Transkei. The 1984 stamp from Transkei depicts a beer tasting presumably of a millet beer [Figure 5] and the 1990 stamp from Bophuthatswana illustrates traditional beer-making activity [Figure 6]. Many collectors are wary of purchasing such stamps issued by breakaway provinces, unofficial or provincial governments or entities created by powerful controlling countries that give the illusion of independent sovereignty when they are, in fact, client states that are recognized as legitimate by few other sovereign nations.

The Stamps Produced by a Beer-centric European Country—Belgium: Belgium does more than produce Stella Artois for the mass market. In fact, it is the smaller breweries, especially those located in, and brewed by, Trappist monks that have captured the imagination of beer-drinking connoisseurs around the world. For a country that is small in areal extent, its beer reputation is outsized. Belgium has produced five stamp issues devoted to beer or aspects of its production. But even that number is a bit deceptive because four of those issues are souvenir sheets containing as many as six different stamps. The oldest Belgian beer-related stamp is a simple single stamp featuring a glass of beer issued in 1986 to honor it national beer industry [Figure 7]. In 2010, and again in 2012, Belgium produced souvenir sheets drawing attention to rural production in two disparate regions of the country—the Hesbaye Region, a sheet that includes five stamps, one of which shows the beer that is produced there [Figure 8]. The second souvenir sheet honors production in the Condroz Region and beer production is also emphasized [Figure 9].

Also in 2012, a souvenir sheet of six stamps was issued that focused on six Trappist beers known worldwide for their excellent flavor provided by differences in the local monastery water and the various types of previously used wooden casks in which the beers are aged [Figure 10]. The individual monastery brews are featured with the appropriate glassware that should bring out the best qualities the brewers wish to emphasize. In alphabetical order, the brews and associated glassware are shown on the stamps of Achel [Figure 11], Chimay [Figure 12], Orval [Figure 13], Rochefort [Figure 14], Westmalle [Figure 15] and Westvleteren [Figure 16]. It is Westvleteren’s XII, a Belgian quadruple, that has been judged to be the rarest beer in the world and among the best. It is rare because it is produced in small batches and only sold at the monastery or a small pub across the street and only on a few days a year. Plus, one must enter a lottery in order to be chosen to buy the beer at all and then only in small amounts (Pagnotta 2013).

The last souvenir sheet from Belgium was issued just last year in 2018 and contains five images lauding the beer culture of Belgium that has been declared an “Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO” (ATA Checklist 63: Beer, 2018) [Figure 17].

Fine Beer-related Art on Stamps: It is not unusual for countries to issue stamps with representations of famous paintings usually by artists of that country. Some of these artistic renditions feature beer drinkers or still lifes with beer steins. In 1990, the tiny principality of Liechtenstein issued three stamps depicting paintings by the artist Benjamin Steck (1902-1981). The stamp with the highest denomination (1.50 francs) is entitled “Basket, Fruit, Stein” [Figure 18].

In 1968, Togo, a small country along the West African coast, issued a stamp with a depiction of Edouard Manet’s (1832-1883) “The Beer Drinkers” [Figure 19] and, in 1995, Georgia honored the 77th anniversary of the death of native artist Niko Piromanashvili (1862-1918). One of his remarkable primitive-style paintings is entitled “Woman with Tankard of Beer” [Figure 20].

Beyond Fine Art: Stamps with an Interesting Graphic Design: While it is interesting to see fine art on postage stamps, some countries have also dabbled in modern graphic design. Three examples are shown here—one from a country we associate more with a wine culture than one based on beer—Argentina and two that are European beer-centric countries—Germany and the Czech Republic.

Argentina is the home of some of the world’s best Malbec wine especially those grown near the city of Mendoza. But in 2011, however, Argentina issued an interesting stamp honoring their national beer festival containing simple but bold and blocky design elements [Figure 21].

A stamp of importance to beer culture is the 1983 German issue that commemorates the 450th anniversary of the beer purity law (Reinheitsgebot) [Figure 22]. That law specifies that beer shall be composed of only four ingredients—grain, yeast, hops and water. The stylized design of the stamp is undoubtedly either based or emulates a 16th century woodcut. I wonder how stray wild yeast strains could be kept out of the open vats shown on the stamp, but that opens up an entirely different line of inquiry that goes beyond the scope of this blog.

And, since the holiday season was not that long ago, I end this stamp-related beer blog with an interesting 2005 graphic design from the Czech Republic that was somehow overlooked by the creators/updaters of the ATA spreadsheet (ATA Checksheet 63: Beer 2018). The stamp depicts a holiday meal of fowl and a beer [Figure 23]. So, as they say in Czech—pro vase zdraví—to your health!

Citations:

American Topical Association. 2018. ATA Checklist 63: Beer (americantopicalassn.org)

Pagnotta, Chris. 2013. Westvleteren 12, The World’s Rarest Beer, Men’s Journal, August 29.

Scott Stamp Catalogue. 2017. Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers. Sidney, OH: Amos Media, 709-13.

Slemrod, Joel. 2008. Why is Elvis on Burkina Faso Postage Stamps? Cross-country Evidence of the Commercialization of State Sovereignty. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, Volume 5, Issue 4, pages 683-712.

Guest Blogger

This blog entry was written by guest blogger. Thomas L. Bell. Tom is Professor Emeritus of Geography at the University of Tennessee. He currently lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Tom’s research interest are in marketing geography and location theory. More recently he has done some work on the American craft brewing industry in the southeastern United States and also on home brewing.