Dear Murl,
Back in 1987, I purchased a 6-pack of M*A*S*H 4077th beer in Georgia thinking it might be something of a collector's item. I believe that it was brewed by the James Hanley Co of Fort Wayne, IN and Omaha, NE. I am very interested in its value and have been searching far and wide for someone with any info. No luck, so I figured I'd go canine and see if the great and almighty Murl can help!
Ralph Jameson
Cary, NC
Heeeeeey Ralph! Ralphy boy!
Okay, so who was your favorite M*A*S*H character? I've gotta go with Frank Burns. He was such a ferret-faced weasel, which I guess is why, as a member of the canine family, I found myself naturally attracted to him. He had some classic one-liners though, like: 'It's nice to be nice to the nice'! How about the episode where Radar was supposed to kill a lamb for Christmas dinner and couldn't do it so he stashed the mutton and served 'Spam Lamb'. Good stuff man. Good stuff.
But that's not why you rang is it, Ralphy-boy? You're motives are slightly more self serving, aren't they? You wanna know if you can't avoid making a fool of yourself on Who Wants to be a Millionaire while you attempt to make your fortune the good ole fashioned way (winning it!) by selling off a sixer of novelty brew. Ralphy, on a side note, have you by chance been socking a few bones away in the back yard? Cause if you haven't, now might be a good time to start.
Your first clue that your investment may not be sound was the fact that the beer you selected was brewed in several states, by several different regional breweries. Additionally, Inspector Clouseau, ya bought it in Georgia, which although it may have one or two notable breweries now, certainly was in the dark ages of brewing in the mid-80's. My guess, the brew from the 4077th resembled the swill that Hawkeye concocted from his backyard still. None the less, it was a long shot and you took it and I respect you for that, Ralph. I do.
M*A*S*H 4077th was in fact brewed by the James Hanley brewery of Ft. Wayne, Indiana and Omaha, Nebraska. The James Hanley name was actually a DBA used by the former Falstaff Brewing Corporation. Right up there with Stag, Old Frothenslosh, Black Label and Narragansett. The brand was issued in the mid 1980s and was available for a couple years. Thousands of these cans were issued along with the likes of Billy Beer & JR Beer (You know, the guy who converted from woosie-boy astronaut in I dream of Jeanie to ruthless, power-crazed bad boy on Dallas). Here's the bad news. On the value-meter, not one of these conversation cans has ever allowed anyone to kick it in Fiji, except, perhaps for their creators, producers and maybe the celebs themselves. Are you sitting Ralph? At most breweriana shows these cans sell for about a quarter, full or empty. Maybe you should look into selling your Cabbage Patch Doll collection.
Woof!
Murl.
