Manuel’s Tavern 1st Draft
Benjamin Tenzer
ENG 181
Unpacking Manuel’s Tavern 1st Draft
Manuel Maloof, a World War II veteran, created Manuel’s Tavern in 1956 to bring the “old country tavern” style bars he visited while stationed in England back to the Northern Highland Avenues in Atlanta. The décor of Manuel’s Tavern, which makes it an historic landmark, was obtained in unconventional ways. Manuel’s father gave Manuel the main bar after it survived a fire. He took much of the furniture from “grand old homes and stores scheduled for demolition.” What makes Manuel’s Tavern truly unique is the decorations donated by loyal customers over the tavern’s long history. These decorations range from a beer can collection to a “nude painting of a customer’s wife, which Manuel bought for $200 because the man was pressed for money.”
One of the more bizarre decorations is the Dead Guy Ale picture on the wall of the first floor of the Full Room 360. The picture contains a skeleton holding a mug of beer sitting curled up in a ball with its arms crossed and its knees tucked in. It looks powerless, alone and cold. The skeleton’s hat represents a beehive. At first I thought it was to represent Dead Guy Ale’s “deep honey color,” but I could not find any evidence to prove that. In fact there is not much information on the skeleton’s hat at all despite its large, complex design.
Although it’s not clear if the hat is in the picture for a reason, the skeleton was put on the beer in honor of the Mayan Day of the Dead celebration. The Mayan Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday, which honors the dead. Mayans, a culture that used to live in present day Mexico, believed that the dead could visit their relatives from October 31st to November 2nd. On the Day of the Dead, it is common to sacrifice food and “several bottles of the preferred drink” to the deceased as shown below. The holiday also provides people with a good reason to drink and make toasts to the deceased.
Dead Guy Ale has expanded beyond being the preferred holiday brew. It is now sold all over the United States and is one of Rogue’s most popular beers. Its fruity yet spicy flavor has won it various awards, including multiple “World Beer Championships” and “The Great International Beer & Cider Competition.”
Despite this, Dead Guy Ale is much less popular than the beers from the big name brands such as Miller and Budweiser, whose logos are on most of Manuel’s Tavern’s decorations. Similar to Manuel’s Tavern, though, Rogue has a unique history and likes to “challenge the status quo.” Rogue was created in 1988. Its original brewery was below a 60-seat pub. Rogue used to brew only American Amber and Oregon beers but now sells a variety of beers, spirits, sodas and ciders. Rogue handcrafts all of its brews to give each one a unique, high-quality flavor. The Rogue owners also claim that they are part of a “small revolution” in which they will “stand up to” big named beer brands such as Budweiser and Miller by being honest and leading by example. They feel as if they lead big even though they have a small brand.
One question still left unanswered is how did the Dead Guy Ale picture get into Manuel’s Tavern? I researched “Prost,” the word signed on the Dead Guy Ale picture, to see if I could figure it out. All I could find is a Seattle Pub that opened in 2002. I couldn’t research the autograph because I can’t read the handwriting. I did figure out, however, that the picture must have been sent, or at least someone had some interaction with it, between 2002, the year that Prost was created, and April 5th, 2010, the date on the picture. The picture contains few of many mysteries left behind at Manuel’s Tavern. Manuel’s Tavern’s owners recently renovated the bar, but pictures including the Dead Guy Ale picture will keep Manuel’s Tavern’s original legacy alive.
