Billy Beer

Infobox Beer
name = Billy Beer


caption = Official logo
brewery = Falls City Brewing Company
Cold Spring Brewing
West End Brewing
Pearl Brewing Company
style =
year = 1977
abv =
og =
fg =
ibu =

Billy Beer was made in the United States by the Falls City Brewing Company [http://www.falstaffbrewing.com/falls.htm Falls City Beer ] ] and promoted by Billy Carter, [http://www-tech.mit.edu/V98/PDF/N11.pdf#4] brother of then-President Jimmy Carter. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE4D9153BF931A35756C0A96E948260 WASHINGTON TALK: BRIEFING; Bullish on Billy Beer - New York Times ] ] The beer was also produced by Cold Spring Brewing, West End Brewing, and Pearl Brewing Company. Introduced in 1977, the beer saw dismal sales figures while in production, but at least two billion cans were produced.

Billy Carter was selected as spokesman for the beer because his brother was president and it was widely known that he enjoyed drinking beer. However, it was also known that Carter's brand of choice was Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Label

Written on each can were these words of endorsement: [http://www.falstaffbrewing.com/_borders/billybeercan.gif]
*"Brewed expressly for and with the personal approval of one of America's all-time great beer drinkers - Billy Carter"
*"I had this beer brewed just for me. I think it's the best I've ever tasted. And I've tasted a lot. I think you'll like it, too."

As a Collectible

After Billy Beer stopped production, advertisements appeared in newspapers offering to sell Billy Beer cans for several hundred to several thousands of dollars each. However, since the cans were produced in the millions, the value of a can ranged from 50 cents to one dollar in 1981. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06EED61738F935A35751C1A967948260 No Point In Treasuring Billy Beer Cans - New York Times ] ] It is now quite common to find Billy Beer on eBay.

References