Lone Star Beer Bobblehead Unveiled for 140th Anniversary and National Drink a Beer Day

MILWAUKEE – This morning, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled an officially licensed, limited-edition Lone Star Beer Bobblehead to celebrate the 140th anniversary for “The National Beer of Texas” and National Drink a Beer Day, which is on Saturday. The bobblehead features the Lone Star armadillo drinking a bottle of Lone Star beer, and the armadillo’s tail also bobbles. Lone Star has endured and refreshed generations of Texans since Lone Star Brewery was built 140 years ago in 1884. The bobbleheads are being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official licensee of Lone Star Beer.

Associated with brand since the 1970s, the armadillo appears on most of Lone Star’s merchandise. The Lone Star bobblehead features the armadillo laying on its back and holding a bottle of Lone Star with the Lone Star labels prominently displayed. Each bobblehead is individually numbered to 2,024, and they are only available through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store. The bobblehead, which are expected to ship in January, are $30 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order.

Founded by Adolphus Busch of Anheuser-Busch in 1884 as the Alamo Brewing Company of San Antonio, the Lone Star Brewery was the first large, mechanized brewery in Texas. Now owned by Pabst Brewing Company, the beer is still marketed as “The National Beer of Texas.” Production of Lone Star is currently contracted to Miller Brewing Company in Fort Worth, Texas. Available in almost every state, roughly 80 percent of Lone Star’s sales are made within its home state.

In 1974, Lone Star Marketing Vice President Barry Sullivan took a trip to Armadillo World Headquarters, a since-shuttered Austin music hall and beer garden, to meet with its in-house artist, Jim Franklin. He asked Franklin to draw whatever he wanted, as long as it depicted a bottle of Lone Star and some nod to Texas culture. The result was an illustration of an armadillo running around a post-apocalyptic wasteland with Lone Star bottle necks sticking out of the sand. Sullivan left the Lone Star team to start his own business in 1977, but the armadillo would become the crux of Lone Star’s marketing.

For many years, Lone Star only produced two beers: its original lager and Lone Star Light. But in the spring of 2020, Lone Star launched Mexican-style lager Rio Jade as its first-ever seasonal release. A few months later, the brand rolled out Das Bier Y’all, a peach-flavored German-style kölsch. The brand also debuted High Desert Days, a wheat beer brewed with hibiscus and agave nectar in June 2021 as an ode to Texas’s Big Bend National Park. All three beers are part of Lone Star’s “Culture Series” with each release paying homage to a different region or aspect of Texas culture.

“We’re excited to unveil this bobblehead celebrating Lone Star beer’s 140th anniversary in conjunction with National Drink a Beer Day,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “With the help of the armadillo mascot, Lone Star has embodied the spirit of Texas for well over a century with no signs of slowing down. We think people will love this unique bobblehead.”

About the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum:
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located at 170 S. 1st St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, opened to the public on February 1st, 2019. The HOF and Museum also produces high quality, customized bobbleheads for retail sale as well as organizations, individuals, and teams across the country. Visit us online and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.