The lower tower of the Adam’s Mark was once a department store, before its eight floors were converted to hotel space. But on this evening in September, many of the rooms have reverted to their old retail role. For a few nights, each open room is a little antique shop dedicated to beer.

The hotel’s housekeeping staff is under strict orders not to make the beds, or clean off the counters or furniture. They know to leave the cans, bottles, openers and tap knobs alone. If it’s garbage, it’s in the garbage can.

Staats and about 800 others are in Denver for the annual CANvention, the biggest gathering of hobbyists who collect all things related to beer. It’s early in the week, before the main trade floor opens, and the action is in the hotel corridors, where the Room to Room (as it’s called) is in full swig. The room holders themselves are often away from their own rooms, getting another beer or checking out other displays, but the rule is “if the door’s open, the store’s open.”

A watering hole with a couple of tapped kegs is strategically located on each floor. The visitors can refill their plastic cups with beer as they migrate from one collector’s room to another, making a circuit of each floor before they wander down the stairs to the next floor.

Just who are these characters who have taken their beer passion to nearly obsessive levels? What makes the relics of beer’s past so compelling that enthusiasts will travel to all parts of the country, completely rearrange their homes around their hobby, or jeopardize marital harmony? Welcome to the world of the collector.

The Haydock Collection was displayed for many years at the huge Oldenberg Brewery in Ft. Mitchell, KY, but when ownership changed at the brewery, the collection was put up for sale. Although all three major American brewing giants viewed the collection, it was fittingly bought by Wisconsin-based Miller. The brewery retained the Miller and Wisconsin artifacts, but the majority of the collection went back into circulation. Knowledgeable collectors can spot individual pieces at shows across the country.

And the Haydocks? Clearly collecting is a habit that dies hard: they’re now 13 years into amassing the Haydock Collection (part two), which will be housed at a museum at New Glarus Brewing Co., also in Wisconsin.

June 17-22, Dubuque, IA. The American Breweriana Association (ABA) Annual Meeting, www.americanbreweriana.org

July 16-19, Sunday River, Bethel, ME. Eastern Coast Brewerania Association (ECBA) Convention, www.eastcoastbrew.com

July 29-August 3, Bettendorf, IA. NABA National Association of Breweriana Advertising (NABA) National Convention, www.nababrew.org

July 30-August 3, Bad Schussenried, Germany. Stein Collectors of International (SCI) Convention. The 2009 convention will be held in Las Vegas.

August 27-30, CANvention, Orlando, FL, hosted by the Brewery Collectables Club of America (BCCA)

At the turn of the century, many breweries issued songbooks for most major holidays, or collections of just great drinking songs for good times. In some examples, the entire family including children was depicted in these forms of advertising.

Just about every brewery with a German heritage issued a poster showing pictures of items named in the Schnitzelbank song, a German children’s ditty-turned-drinking song. Oxen Blas, Grosses Glas, Schnickel Fritz and Haufen Mist were just a few of the rhyming pairs in the Ist das nicht ein Schnitzelbank? Ja das ist ein Schnitzelbank song. Most breweries would issue these posters in time for the release of their bock beer or in time for an Oktoberfest celebration. Schnitzelbank is the German word for a carving bench, a tool used by the coopers who made the barrels for beer, among others.

The breweries with some of the best jingles released them as forty-fives in the sixties and seventies. Schaefer is the one jingle to sing, when you are singing more than one. The Hudepohl Brewery in Cincinnati issued a forty-five featuring “Rock-n-Roll with Hudepohl.” The flip side played “Bless My Soul, It’s Hudepohl.”

The Falls City brewery of Louisville, KY released a forty-five on the SUDS record label. This was a light-hearted way of getting their 1972 advertising into the hands of coming-of-age consumers. Today, brewers have You Tube and other internet avenues to reach this same consumer base.

Breweries also got into concert promotion. In 1982, Schlitz sponsored the US tour of the Who. A campaign known as Schlitz Rocks America was a way of getting new and younger drinkers to try Schlitz. Rolling Rock used to host the Town Fair in Latrobe, PA, a large rock concert held almost in the shadow of the brewery each summer. Newcastle sponsored Green Day’s last US tour. Budweiser, Miller and Coors all promote various bands of all levels and musical genres. These breweries sponsor tours, CD release parties, and other music promotions from campaigns like Bud True Music.

Beers have been advertised on items ranging from guitar-shaped neons, kazoos and harmonicas to guitar picks and drumsticks.

Many collectors can rattle off any number of songs that feature the word “beer” in some form or another in its lyrics. As long as we have country music we will never run out of songs that sing the praises of Pabst and other brands of beer. Tom T. Hall probably said it best when he wrote “I Like Beer.”

But, to dig deeply into our country’s connection with music and beer, it’s essential to know that the Star Spangled Banner is actually lyrics reworked into “To Anacreon in Heaven,” a British drinking song.

It is thought that hockey is nearly as old as beer, dating back to approximately 2000 BC, and the association with beer may also be ancient. The most important tool of the game, the stick, was originally a barrel stave. Some of the earliest versions of the puck may have been cow chips coated in pitch: pitch is the viscous tar-like substance that was used to line the vats and barrels of most breweries for centuries.

In modern times, the prize awarded to the world’s best team each year is the Stanley Cup. Each player on the winning team gets to spend time with the prize over the year, and you just know that a few brews have been quaffed from this flagon of fortitude. The Molson Cup is an award given to the Canadian hockey player who receives the most three-star votes during the season.

Breweries have owned teams and venues, and sponsored broadcasts. The Molson Brewery owned the Montreal Canadiens for years and the team played their home games at the Molson Centre in Montreal. The Quebec Nordiques were owned by the Carling-O’Keefe Brewery before it merged with Molson. In London, ON, hockey and other events are held at the John Labatt Centre. For years Canadians were glued to their TVs, as Molson brought viewers “Hockey Night” live from coast to coast.

South of the border, Iron City has regularly promoted the Pittsburgh Penguins, paying homage to the Civic Arena where the team plays, along with issuing a number of beer cans: one with a team schedule, one listing team awards and, of course, one to commemorate Mario Lemieux. Miller Lite honored the Detroit Red Wings’ victories on a series of beer cans, as well.

Don Rickles would be proud of all of the hockey pucks I have in my collection that advertise beer. One of the coolest items I have is a Labatt Blue windshield scraper, in the shape of a skate with a hockey stick shoved in it. The blade of the skate is the blade on the scraper. Molson produced a great tap handle, which is a full caged hockey mask on the end of a hockey stick. Labatt issued a similar design except with a hockey glove on their tap handle.

Another great artifact is a regulation-size Molson Ice hockey stick, complete with reinforcing tape. They also issued a great set of coasters in the shape of hockey pucks, which show an NFL team on one side and hockey trivia on the reverse.

Richard Squire, the founder of the Breckenridge Brewery in Colorado, scored with the brewery’s Avalanche Amber, when Denver named its team the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado’s fans may face off over the best micro to drink during the game, but Breckenridge has the name by a long shot.

I must have over two hundred team schedules issued by various breweries, with the Canadian breweries producing bi-lingual schedules. Now that the labor disputes of the NHL are behind us, it is time to start collecting the newest schedules of the 2007 season.

In a classic routine, comedian George Carlin analysed the differences between baseball and football: baseball is played in a park; football is played on the gridiron; in baseball you go home, in football you wind up in the end zone. If football is the more macho sport, not surprisingly the collectables for football have always had more of a macho feel than those used to advertise baseball: grills, grilling utensils, coolers and other tailgating tools have promoted beer for this great tradition of the football pre-game.

Schlitz was the first brewery to utilize the SuperBowl for a true advertising blitz. In the early 1980s, Schlitz’ master brewer, Frank Sellinger, hosted a live taste test. During breaks in the game, a cut away would go to the studio, where a group of consumers would taste three different beers and then pull a lever. This was known as the Great American Taste Test. Unfortunately, this novel campaign was not able to revive Schlitz’ sliding sales.

The only NFL team I recall being fully owned by a brewery was the Baltimore Colts. The National Brewing Co.’s ownership of the Colts is also tied to Colt 45, the malt liquor the company developed in 1963. It is suggested that the name is derived from the name of the team and the number 45 from a star player on the team. It might also have referred to the number of players on the Colts’ roster.

Over the last 20 years, television advertising of the big game has belonged to Anheuser-Busch. Many collectibles have been produced to advertise the annual Bud Bowl: helmets promoting Bud or Bud Light that fit on the neck of a bottle; coasters and playbooks; and inflatables in the shape of the Bud Bowl players, goal posts, and footballs.

Miller Brewing was the official beer of the NFL for numerous years and promoted the various SuperBowls with coasters, cans, and bottle labels. They also issued an inflatable chair emblazoned with the NFL team and Miller logos, and of course it had cup holders. The chair was designed for in-store promotions but was also available to consumers through a mail-in offer. Miller also produced an annual football handbook. This pamphlet listed all of the major college and pro conference schedules, as well as info on the various bowl games.

Coors now has the rights to be the official beer of the NFL. Each year their cans and bottle labels promote the big game. Besides once issuing a football shaped bottle, they also issue a 5-liter can of beer with bold graphics promoting each year’s SuperBowl. Following the close of the season, Coors also issues a can to salute the winning team.

The Pittsburgh Brewing Co. has probably issued the greatest number of football-themed cans over the years. Each year that the Steelers won a SuperBowl, an Iron City can was issued with a team photo across the label. Many of their star players, coaches, and even their announcer have all been commemorated on beer cans. This has continued with new technology this year, when Pittsburgh Brewing commemorated Jerome Bettis on one of their Iron City Light Aluminum bottles.

I am sure at the close of this year’s game and the beginning of the 2007 season we can expect more items promoting two of America’s great traditions.

Just before St. Patrick’s Day, I purchased a new home, an exciting event for many. For me, it took a while for the excitement to set in. My first thought was “Oh, yeah, now I have to move all of this stuff.” With 45 days left before the closing, it was time to bring order to this bevy of breweriana.

Over the past few years I had outgrown the three-bedroom bi-level I purchased back in college. As I would return home from collecting shows and flea markets, I had no choice but to box and stow the newest treasures. This actually worked to my benefit, because for the first few weekends of the move, the cars, trucks, and U-Haul trailers were easy to load for the trip to the new abode.

It was sometime around the fourth weekend that the move became more of a challenge. In a sick sort of a way, I could not walk past an empty box in public without attempting to acquire it. Bubble wrap, packing peanuts and old newspapers suddenly became golden.

Mark Twain once said that you never really meet a person until you travel with them. I am here to tell you that you never really meet a person until they help you move.

The major brewers have used vampires, skeletons and jack o’lanterns, and slogans such as “I vant to suck your Bud!” to boost sales. Elvira, the “Mistress of the Dark,” promotes Coors Light. Miller Lite and MGD have released orange and black versions of their logos on bottles. Miller also packaged beer in cans with Halloween graphics: if you were one of the few who found one in your case of beer, you were a prizewinner. These promotions have become more of a treat than a trick when it comes to increased sales.

A number of microbreweries have seen a spike in sales with the release of pumpkin beers. To name a few, Buffalo Bill’s, O’Fallon, New Holland’s and Shipyard all produce brews made with the addition of pumpkin starch and various spices. The end result is a gourd-geous concoction, resembling a liquid version of pumpkin pie.

The Wychwood Brewery of Oxfordshire, England, uses a spooky theme year-round with their brands. Wychwood is named after the ancient medieval forest of the Wych Wood. Hobgoblin Ale is their largest seller, followed by such beers as Black Wych, Circle Master (or Scarecrow, as it is known in the United States), and Fiddler’s Elbow.

This year they will introduce a line extension, WychCraft, with original art commissioned from Chris Bohanna, who first gained fame from the many album covers he designed for the rock group Molly Hatchet.

Collectors seek out Wychwood labels because of the ever-varying graphics used in the designs. Even their tap handles have a scary look about them: the first Hobgoblin tap handle was a bloodied axe. The newest version features a goblin clutching a sword while sporting a sinister look.

Rogue Ale’s number one selling brand is the Mai-Bock style known as Dead Guy Ale. Micro consumers easily recognize the logo of a cross-legged skeleton sitting on a barrel. A pinnacle collectable is the ceramic tap handle for Dead Guy Ale: a three-dimensional version of the skeleton on the keg.

Each year leading up to Halloween, this brewery issues glow-in-the-dark versions of Dead Guy growlers and 22-ounce bottles. Rogue also issues a glow-in-the-dark wristband, similar to the Lance Armstrong yellow band, distributed to promote the “Rogue Strong” lifestyle. There are even Dead Guy condoms that are said to glow in the dark! Of course, no collection would be complete without the glow-in-the-dark Rogue Dead Guy yo-yo.

For a number of years, Pete’s Brewing Co. also capitalized on Halloween. Naturally, when your major brand is named Wicked Ale, Halloween is a natural fit. For the last big marketing push, the company sponsored a number of Rob Zombie rock concerts.

Lots of people decorate their houses for the various holidays, especially Halloween. I simply drag out the collectables affiliated with each occasion and leave the generic decorations on the shelves at Walgreen’s.

That all changed in 2002, when Dale Katechis, president of Oskar Blues Brewery, a small microbrewery in Lyons, CO, released his highly hopped Dale’s Pale Ale in cans, an historical change in how the microbreweries could go to market.

Cans offer many advantages. They afford access to venues that don’t allow bottles, such as stadiums, picnic and boating areas, ball parks, golf courses, beaches, airlines and national parks. Cans also better protect beer from light and ultra-violet damage. The lining technology of cans has also improved over the years. This is a much lighter package that saves on shipping costs. And more cans than bottles fit in most coolers or refrigerators.

Craft brewed beer in cans was made possible when Cask Brewing Systems of Calgary, Canada developed an affordable canning line for small-batch packaging.

The new canning line is inexpensive compared to a bottling operation, and can fit in a 10 by 10 square foot section of the brewery. This has allowed a nice number of micros and brewpubs to offer their beers for take-out in cans and beyond. By the end of 2006, over 25 small breweries in the United States will be packing their beer in cans.

Collectors Can, Too

This change to the industry has started a ground swell among the collectors. Here is a chance for a collector to acquire every can produced by this new technology. The distribution channels for these small brewers is not as vast as their bigger competitors, so simply by sheer numbers these cans will always be scarce.

Already some cans have started to grow in rarity. Late last year, Oskar Blues produced two commemorative cans with a very limited release: Gordon, a big double IPA; and Leroy, a brown ale. These cans were brought out just before the holidays: one had a green label; one, red. The graphics used by the micros are pushing the envelope. Top of the Hill Brewpub in Chapel Hill, NC, has two beautiful cans out on the market and the collectors have taken notice.

Last year, when Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, one of the breweries damaged was the brand new Heiner Brau Brewery of Covington, LA. This brewery had just released their kölsch beer in a can, a can which is now difficult for collectors to acquire. The Ukiah Brewery of Ukiah, CA is now packaging an organic beer in cans.

There is not a collector out there who would not give up their first born to have been around in 1935 when the first Kruger cans went on sale. Now, more than 70 years later, collectors actually get a chance to experience history in the making (and retain their first-born).

This year’s World Cup is being hosted by the entire country of Germany. Amazingly, one of the major sponsors this year is Anheuser-Busch, the brewers of Budweiser. In order to gain worldwide appeal, A-B is spending multiple millions to sponsor soccer events in the U.S. and other parts of the world. Germany’s Bitburger brand will also have a role in advertising the 2006 World Cup.

For some time, A-B has sponsored various soccer events in this country, including a variety of beer cans saluting the World Cup. A great number of commemorative items (such as tap handles in the shape of a soccer ball, various wearables, lighted signs, metal tackers and bar mirrors) have been issued by A-B to promote soccer in America. The majority of these collectables were issued when the U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994.

The Tortoise & the Beer

Certain brands of beer have become famous simply through their sponsorship of national teams. For example, many soccer fans know the Q on the Argentinean team stands for Quilmes, the largest selling beer in Argentina.

In Brazil, it is Brahma that soccer fans know. An animated turtle pitchman turns into a soccer superstar and steals a can of Brahma beer that falls off of a beer delivery truck. In Canada, Molson has even named their energy-spiked entry Kick; its packaging features graphics reflective of a soccer theme.

For years now, Carlsberg’s marketing divisions in both Denmark and Canada have produced hundreds of soccer-themed pieces of advertising. One memorable Canadian piece required you to collect roughly 50 different bottle caps. Each cap depicted a different country participating in the World Cup. Carlsberg has even issued a cooler shaped like a soccer ball.