Baltimore’s Favorite Beer and the Ravens Connection
Oh, Natty Boh! How you make a Ravens game day so much fun! Whether our beloved team wins or loses, you’re like an old friend there to guide us through times of celebration and consolation. We know the outcome of the game won’t always go our way, so when an authority like BetStars gives the edge to the Ravens over the Texans, we take comfort in knowing that an ice cold Natty Boh will still make the trip down to Russell Street worthwhile.
From Mr. Boh — your mustachioed cyclops mascot who enlivens every can or bottle — to your slightly watered-down, bitter taste, you bring pure Baltimore to wherever we may be. Every big city has their trademark blue collar adult beverage, but ours is the best. As the slogan says: “Oh, boy. What a beer!”
Natty Boh is as much of a part of Charm City as Poe or Ripken. Arriving as a local beer made by the National Brewing Company in 1885, National Bohemian has undergone a series of ownership changes throughout the years.
The brand was purchased by Carling, a Canadian brewer, in 1975, and then Stroh Brewery in 1996. Pabst eventually picked up this pilsner from the “Land of Happy Living”, where Natty Boh remains part of the product lineup to this day.
In the 1940s, Natty Boh became the first beer to be sold in six packs, forever defining the preferred standard denomination in which consumers purchase their suds. The introduction of the beloved pictogram puzzles on the underside of bottle caps was introduced in 1944. The Natty Boh cap puzzles in circulation today have remained unchanged since the 1970s, and they come with a little slice of bar etiquette that is perfectly Baltimore. A bartender who fails to provide the bottle cap with a Natty Boh order has committed an atrocity known as Boh Cap Violation.
Natty Boh’s reputation as the Baltimore treasure we know it to be developed in the 1950s by way of athletic event sponsorships. There was an affiliation with the PGA Eastern Open Invitational at the Mt. Pleasant Golf Course and a softball team fielded by members of the Baltimore Clippers minor league hockey franchise. Rest assured those guys knew a thing or two about beer leagues!
When NFL football returned to Baltimore in the form of the Ravens in 1996 after a 12-year hiatus, the cultural marriage between the gridiron and the favorite local beer was inevitable. While Natty Boh may not have an official corporate partnership with the Ravens, it’s the official beer in the hearts and minds of the fans and Charm City at large.
Some of our favorite apparel seen on game days and around the city are mashups of the Natty Boh and Ravens logos. Mr. Boh and Ravens purple just go together like crabs and Old Bay. Showing pride for your favorite team and beer on one tee or sweatshirt is the epitome of high fashion, and Ravens Walk is our version of a Milan runway come Sundays in the fall.
If you’re looking for some cool Boh-meets-Ravens (or O’s!) gear, check out the fine selections available on nattybohgear.com and routeoneapparel.com, a Maryland-themed clothing retailer. The great street vendors around M&T Bank Stadium offer fun Natty Boh-inspired wears as well.
