The First Choice of People Who Like a Second Glass of Beer

When I was just a tasteful tyke, my parents would lavishly entertain: The Catholic Family Association, Pottowattamie County Democrats, The Jesuit Lawyer's Party, the list goes on and on.

All of these social occassions meant plenty of Ruffles with Onion Dip, Rumaki, Lazy Susans loaded with veggies and California Dip, Cheese Trays, and tidbit plates loaded down with Russel Stover's candy, for those with a sweet tooth.

But most of all, these events meant beer: Lots and lots of Beer. And in Council Bluffs - if one were strictly liberal and up-to-date - that meant Storz.

I grew up around Storz Beer. The brewery was over in North Omaha (which, being the black neighborhood, was always an exotic destination for a oh-so-very-white-child like me.) It had two fabulous tasting rooms: The Trophy Room and the Frontier Room. The Storz family lived in a fabulous turn-of-the-century mansion not far from Mutual of Omaha. It's still there, but there are no Storz left. They are all in the family crypt at Forest Lawn now.

My mom and aunts had all of the Storz cookbooks, my dad and uncles had Storz Coolers, and every bar you went into (Iowa is not as stuffy about kids seeing the inside of bars as Washington state is. ) had a fabulous Storz sign. They bubbled and gurgled and blinked and spun. They were by far the best beer signs in your average bar.

Storz is, like most things I write about, long gone, but the memorabilia lives on. And rightfully so: Like Union Pacific's Passenger advertising back in the day, the remaining Storz stuff (usually found on eBay) shows a level of sophistication that one just doesn't expect from Omaha anymore. Actully, we didn't expect it then, either. I think they must have had people in Chicago do their advertising for them.

And, if for some reason you are into game (as in hunting.) you will not find a better cookbook than any of the Storz cookbooks. The Storz family loved their game, and had a huge ranch in Western Nebraska for hunting. Remarkably, no Vice-President's ever shot anyone there, but the Storz were Democrats.

Anyway, over the past week or so, while the Colonel was off working on the train (he's back in the office now) I found me some fun little Storz stuff that I am planning on incorporating into the Rumpus Room, which is currently undergoing a redecoration. (pictures coming soon)

In the meantime, enjoy this fun little Storz Beer sign, which will soon grace the new bar.