The Collector: Rob Rowe’s collection features classic beer, ‘land of sky-blue waters’

A blind taste test of cheap beers spawned a collection that numbers in the hundreds.

In 2018, Rob Rowe attended a family reunion in Seattle. Attendees were asked to bring a cheap brand of beer to enter in a blind taste test competition.

“A friend had recently introduced me to Hamm’s on a camping trip, and I really liked it,” recalled Rowe.

So, he put his beverage up against Schlitz, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Olympia and Rainier.

“Everyone picked Hamm’s,” he said. “It was unanimous!”

He had no intention of starting a collection, but he spotted a set of plastic advertising tiles at a Hillyard antique shop. Then he saw a blue-tinted neon sign.

Rowe bought the items, and when he got home, he did some online research, joined a Hamm’s beer collector Facebook group, and the rest is carbonated history.

Founded in St. Paul, Minnesota, by German immigrant Theodore Hamm in 1865, the company was one of the first to join the branding bandwagon.

You don’t have to be a beer drinker to know the words and the tune of the iconic 1945 jingle.

“From the land of sky-blue waters, from the land of pines, lofty balsams, comes the beer refreshing, Hamm’s, the beer refreshing. Hamm’s!”

The logo varied by region, but always featured “land of sky-blue waters.”

Those waters appear to move on a sign Rowe found at 1889 Salvage Co. on North Monroe Street.

“It’s called a Rippler,” he explained.

The signs first appeared around 1956. An internal motor and a moving film strip create a continuous rippling effect.

In addition to the vintage Rippler and several neon signs, Rowe found a couple of Hamm’s Scene-O-Ramas. The animated beer signs from the 1960s and ’70s feature captivating scenes like flowing waterfalls, rivers and campfire smoke set in a picturesque landscape.

When Rowe received a pair of damaged signs from a friend, he knew exactly who could fix them – Steve Miner.

Miner is a legend in Hamm’s Beerland. He owns one of the largest Hamm’s Beer collections in the country and fixes broken memorabilia for people at his shop.

The fact that his shop in Winnebago, Minnesota, didn’t faze Rowe.

“We were taking a road trip to visit our daughter in Tennessee, so we stopped in,” said Rowe. “He’s the Ken Burns of the Hamm’s collectible world!”

Closer to home, he found a lighted globe that once hung over a bar’s cash register. A few Hamm’s taps nestle in glasses behind it.

In 1954, the company upped its advertising ante with the introduction of the Hamm’s bear. The animated black-and-white bear appeared in television commercials and print ads.

Rowe discovered a large Styrofoam Hamm’s bear in Seattle and was delighted that it was still intact.

“Lots of them have missing ears or thumbs,” he said.

His bear holds a six-pack of vintage pull-tab cans.

A red, white and blue “political” coaster depicts an elephant and a donkey with the bear between them. It reads “Vote for the bear!”

In Coeur d’Alene, Rowe found a pair of ’70s-era Hamm’s bear decanters with the beer bottles tucked inside. You can unscrew the bear’s head, pop open the beer, and sip.

“One was opened, the other one still has the beer inside,” Rowe said. “I’m not opening it!”

Where there is beer, there are steins, mugs, glasses, and goblets. The collector quickly learned the differences between vintage barware and the newer iterations.

“The original thumbprint glasses are much heavier,” he said.

Font styles offer another clue.

“Thinner font is late ’50s, early ’60s,” Rowe explained. “Thicker font is newer.”

He found a Hamm’s pitcher at an estate sale on the South Hill and two ashtrays at an antique store on Sprague Avenue.

Two tin serving trays are intact, which is unusual.

“They’re hard to find without holes because bar owners would hang them on the walls,” he said.

A model railroad car and a couple of toy delivery trucks sport the Hamm’s logo, and of course, Rowe has branded clothing items, too.

“The things I like most are the signs by far,” he said.

Then he grinned and added, “I also enjoy the hunt and finding something hard to get.”

The origin of his collection has taken on greater significance.

“One of my cousins died after the reunion,” Rowe said. “I wanted to get something Hamm’s to give everyone. I was able to give Hamm’s glasses to everyone who was at the reunion.”