American beer advertising is occasionally a subtle art. With no alcohol content listed on the label and fifty different marketing laws in as many states, beer must be cleverly marketed. Take Samuel Adams Double Bock for example; I did. I was attracted by the offer of double bock. It didn't make any sense from what I understand about real bock beer, but who could resist two for the price of one? Plus extra malt! The clincher, though, was the handsome portrait of Sam himself, staring at me from the gallery of six-packs asking to come home with me.
For a minute I thought I was seeing double, or looking at a bad example of colonial cubism. Later, I realized I had been subliminally influenced by the packaging. Since seeing double is supposedly one of the manifestations of strong drink (and one of the few I haven't experienced) I subconsciously decided that Samuel Adams Double Bock was good stuff.
(And, as American beers go, it was.)
