{"id":11481,"date":"2012-07-28T20:54:09","date_gmt":"2012-07-29T04:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/?p=11481"},"modified":"2012-11-25T10:03:23","modified_gmt":"2012-11-25T18:03:23","slug":"the-orchid-of-beer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/2012\/07\/28\/the-orchid-of-beer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Orchid of Beer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summertime is a great time to relax with refreshing Storzette, “the Orchid of Beer.” Alas, only the ad campaign remains from this floral appeal to women in the 1950’s. “The original beer for women” was a creation of Storz Brewing<\/a> in Omaha, Nebraska, and featured a colorful Cattleya<\/a> on the label. “Created for the feminine taste”, in 8 ounce (237 ml) “queen size cans,” the brand and the ads hearken back to a time when orchids were a real extravagance. Cattleya or Cymbidium<\/a> corsages adorned women on every formal occasion, from weddings to proms. First Lady Mamie Eisenhower<\/a> frequently wore an orchid corsage (here’s a later picture of her wearing a Renanthera<\/a>, a Vanda<\/a> relative.) Storzette never had strong sales, and the brand didn’t last long, but Storz Brewing kept “the Orchid of Beer” slogan on other products for a few years.<\/p>\n

\"Storzette<\/a>\"Storzette<\/a>\"Storz<\/a><\/p>\n

Over the decades, breeding advances and mass marketing helped promote orchids from fancy corsages to common houseplants. I don’t know how much orchids inspired beer sales, but nowadays they appear standard in perfume<\/a> ads. Storz Brewery closed in 1972.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Brandon Vogel’s blog<\/a> and Chronicles from the Analog Age blog<\/a> for their histories and photos.
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