Breweriana: It's more than beer cans

There's only one place a person can see a 40-foot tall bear promoting a famous brand of beer, and it's in Cloquet.

The Hamm's Bear is an iconic advertising creation, and Northeastern Saloon proprietor Bert Whittington owns the largest version of the well-known bear. With the help from a few friends, Whittington inflates his giant bear on the Northeastern's lawn on Dunlap Island once each year during the Nordlager breweriana show.

Breweriana shows are like a traveling museum of beer advertising and history related to brewing.

It's an unfamiliar term to many, but "breweriana" is the word collectors use to describe the items bearing the name of a brewery or beer brand. Breweriana includes beer cans, bottles, lighted and unlighted signs, trays, openers, glassware, coasters, bottle caps, posters, mirrors, hats, clothing, jewelry, keychains, pens, and everything and anything that has a beer brand name or logo on it.

The huge Hamm's Bear is a perfect example of breweriana, albeit a bit on the oversized end of the collectibles spectrum.

The inflatable Hamm's Bear is one of six made in 1980 for the major beer distributors, who used them at trade shows and special events. Whittington acquired one from the president of the Hamm's Beer Club and it's the last one known to exist that is complete and still functional.

The Hamm's bear, with its friendly expression presiding over the Dunlap Island landscape, served as both attention-getting advertising for the recent Nordlager show and provided a landmark for attendees.

"This was the 18th year we have hosted the Nordlager show at the Northeastern," Whittington said. The show gets its name from the Nordlager beer brand brewed by Duluth's legendary Fitger's brewing company. "We usually hold the show the weekend after the Fourth of July," said Whittington. "It brings people to town and it's fun."

Whittington said 25 vendors were set up with displays of breweriana, and he estimated about 250 people stopped by during the day. Attendees came from across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and North Dakota. Thousands of breweriana items were available, priced anywhere from less than a dollar to a few thousand.

Don Hardy, current president of the Breweriana Collectibles Club of America (BCCA), came from the Chicago area to attend the show in Cloquet. Has been a breweriana collector since 1969.

"This is a really nice setup, being on an island and the Northeastern Saloon and hotel is really neat, nicely done," said Hardy. "Plus, where else can you see a 40-foot tall bear?"

Hardy was impressed with Bert Whittington's breweriana collection on display inside the Northeastern.

"I've been in this hobby since 1969 and I've seen a lot of stuff but there were at least 15 things in his collection that I have never seen before, not even in books or photos," said Hardy.

'We're all collectors'

The BCCA started in 1971 as the Beer Can Collectors of America and it was all about beer cans. The organization changed its name to Breweriana Collectors Club of America because members collected just about everything related to beer and brewery advertising. Shows in the early years were ruled by "trade-only" transactions, but the club has changed with the times and now trading, selling and buying are all part of the hobby.

"There are so many people who collected beer cans and breweriana when they were kids when the hobby was really strong in the 1970s, and then life happens," explained Hardy. "They got out of it for whatever reason, but a lot of these former collectors are slowly getting back into the hobby because they remember how much fun they had collecting as kids. They almost fall over when they see the prices now compared to back then. They wish they had never stopped or had kept their collections."

The BCCA currently has about 3,300 active members across the United States as well as international members. Members receive a full-color magazine six times per year, plus information about shows, events, and connections with other collectors.

"Most people, when they visit our home, don't have any idea what breweriana is or know about beer can collecting, so we show our collection to them and they are really fascinated because it brings back memories of what their parents drank or their grandparents drank," said Pete Kaczanowski, a BCCA member from Minneapolis who was at the Nordlager show. "We try to make it every year; we buy and sell cans and other breweriana here. Everybody is friendly so it's just a nice day to come up and meet old friends."

"The best things about breweriana shows are the camaraderie and friendships among the people," said Whittington. "Some people are sellers, some people are just buyers, but we're all collectors."