Mash Beer Choices: What Did They Drink?

Beer was a prominent feature of the popular 1970s sitcom M*A*S*H, which was set in the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. While the show aired until 1983, it was in the mid-1980s that a novelty beer called 4077th M*A*S*H Beer was released. The show featured other fictional beers, including Star Beer, a generic gold-coloured canned beer, and Dubuque Star, which was served at Rosie's Bar, an off-base hangout for those serving in the 4077th.

The beer brand Star Beer was fictional

The beer was consumed by Hawkeye, Trapper, and B.J., who were depicted drinking hard liquor or screwdrivers from lowball or martini glasses. The show also featured a homemade distillery in the Swamp, their tent quarters.

While the show aired, a separate licensing deal was made for a beer called 4077th M*A*S*H Beer. This beer was produced by the Falstaff Brewing Corporation and did not appear on the show.

The show featured other fictional beers

The show *M*A*S*H featured other fictional beers, including Star Beer, a generic gold-coloured fictional brand. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History has some cans in its collection, made of aluminium and paper. The can is said to be reminiscent of Ballantine Lager.

In the mid-1980s, a novelty beer called 4077th M*A*S*H Beer was released, with a camouflage design and the label "Premium Quality". The beer was produced by the Falstaff Brewing Corporation and never appeared on the show.

There were other TV shows with novelty beers, too. For example, *Dallas* had its own JR Beer, labelled "J.R. Ewing's Private Stock" on a blue ribbon.

The cast drank hard liquor and screwdrivers

The cast of M*A*S*H were often depicted drinking hard liquor and screwdrivers from lowball and martini glasses. The show, which was set during the Korean War, featured a homemade distillery in the Swamp, the tent quarters of Hawkeye, Trapper, and B.J. While the show is best associated with the 1970s, it aired until 1983 and had its own beer in the 1980s, called 4077th M*A*S*H Beer. However, this beer never appeared on the show. Instead, the cast was shown drinking a fictional brand called Star Beer, which was a generic, non-premium, adjunct, standard American lager. The cans were gold and made of aluminium and paper.

4077th M*A*S*H Beer was a real product

The 4077th M*A*S*H Beer was indeed a real product, although it was not featured on the show. The beer was released in the mid-1980s, after the show had ended in 1983. The cans were camouflaged and branded with the name "4077th M*A*S*H Beer" and "Premium Quality". Inside the cans was Falstaff Lager, produced by the Falstaff Brewing Corporation. The cans featured a trademark of the Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

The show, which was set in the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War, frequently depicted alcohol consumption. The characters Hawkeye, Trapper, and B.J. were often seen drinking hard liquor or screwdrivers, and tinkering with a homemade distillery in their tent quarters. There was also a bar in the Officer's Club and Rosie's Bar, a popular off-base drinking spot.

While the 4077th M*A*S*H Beer was a real product, the beer brand featured on the show was a fictional brand called Star Beer. The cans were gold in colour, reminiscent of Ballantine Lager, and made of aluminium and paper. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History has some of these cans in its collection, although they are not on display.

The show's finale drew 125 million viewers

The series finale of *M*A*S*H*, titled "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", drew an impressive number of viewers when it first aired in 1983. While the show's finale has been reported to have attracted 125 million viewers, this number may be slightly overstated. The actual total audience for the finale was 121.6 million, with an average of 105.97 million viewers tuning in for the entire 2.5-hour episode.

Regardless, the impact and popularity of the *M*A*S*H* finale cannot be overstated. It remains a landmark moment in television history, with the episode's ratings surpassing those of other notable television events at the time, such as the highly anticipated reveal of J.R. Ewing's shooter in Dallas and the blockbuster miniseries Roots. The finale's success also extended beyond its initial airing, with the episode re-aired as a Movie of the Week in 1992 to commemorate its 10th anniversary.

The show's enduring appeal can be attributed to its evolution from a wacky sitcom to a dramedy that tackled serious subjects like trauma and PTSD. The finale, directed by Alan Alda, who also starred in the series, provided a fitting conclusion to the show's 11-year run, which outlasted the three-year-long Korean War that served as its backdrop.

The finale's record-breaking viewership can be partly attributed to the anticipation and media coverage leading up to its airing. The episode's plot, chronicling the final days of the Korean War and the closure for the characters, offered a satisfying conclusion to the series that had become a cultural phenomenon.

The impact of the *M*A*S*H* finale extended beyond television ratings. Its cultural significance was such that it even influenced water usage patterns, with reports of massive spikes in water usage during commercial breaks, as viewers took bathroom breaks en masse.

The show's impact also extended to merchandising, with the creation of 4077th M*A*S*H Beer, a novelty beer that capitalized on the show's popularity. While the beer itself was produced by the Falstaff Brewing Corporation, the cans featured a camouflage design and were branded with the show's unit number, further showcasing the extent of the show's influence.

The *M*A*S*H* finale, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", stands as a testament to the show's enduring legacy and its place in television history. With its impressive viewership, the finale cemented the show's impact on popular culture and continues to be remembered as one of the most-watched television events of all time.

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