So I was checking out the Spaten USA Facebook page and they have a sub page for their vintage posters (I own an original of the second one on the bottom row, BTW), and I see a poster for Heilbier -- second image on the first row. Can anyone school me on Heilbier? Based on Hohlwein's beautiful lithograph, the beverage appears pretty dark and served in a short, almost pint-like, glass.
Some sort of German natural healing method: drink a lot of Spaten Dunkel? Sounds good/legit to me! EDIT: Looks like it appeared in 1926 originally. From their Web site: "Two years later Spaten’s ‘Heilbier’ beer (called ‘Vollmalz’ from 1941) enters the market." Hmm. Guess "Heil" had different connotations from 1941 on or something.... (sorry, had to do it)
Ugh -- man, I'm disappointed. Nevertheless, "Heil" still means "Hail," no matter who's shouting it or when. And it was probably 1933 on that you're referring to. Vollmalz? More and more this is sounding like some sort of non/low-alcohol beverage, no?
My guess would be that the German word Heil derives from a proto-Germanic word which has spawned the Swedish word hel, i.e whole, and the English word whole. So heil, hel, whole. And as herrburgess notes "two years later Spaten's Heilbier beer (called Vollmalz from 1941) enters the market." In Swedish helmaltsöl (or vollmalzbier) is the standard term for a beer made only of malt rather than adjuncts and malt.
If you take a look at the picture, you can see an old man. This beer was the same like a "Nährbier", Hacker-Pschorr stopped brewing a few years ago. das Heil = well, in health. Nowadays in Germany we only use the verb heilen = to heal. So if you wish(ed) someone "Heil", it is like the old romans saying Salve! when they meet (and that was taken over by the ****s... - and that's the fact I guess why the word "Heil" isn't used very often these days...). You wish the one you're meeting to stay healthy. So Heil-Bier is a low-alcoholic beer (like Malzbier), full of nutritive substances that helps you getting well soon... PS: Whole = Voll - with a bit of phantasy you can see the relationship of these two words that must have an old Germanic root - but Heil = heal - a complete different root...
Heilen = to heal I think they were trying to point out that their beer was a very healthy drink almost worthy called being a medicine.
