The Old-School Beer Brand Paul Newman Swore By

In the culinary world, Paul Newman is perhaps best remembered for his salad dressings. During the height of his fame, the actor was known as a big drinker, a habit he struggled with over his lifetime. Princeton students even named an annual drinking binge after him. Newman managed to give up hard liquor in the early 1970s, but his passion for beer remained. Although it wasn't widely publicized during his lifetime, he would drink as many as 10 beers a day. The San Francisco Chronicle even mentioned his love of the brew in his obituary. His favorite brand was a German lager called St. Pauli Girl.

When asked what he was drinking for the holidays during a 1968 Town and Country interview, Newman listed St. Pauli Girl by name and saying, "if it's good enough to be my favorite for the rest of the year, it's good enough for special occasions." St. Pauli Girl had only been introduced to the U.S. market in 1965, so he'd become smitten with it pretty quickly.

Named for St. Pauli's Friary in Germany and the brewery built next to it, St. Pauli Girl was advertised as being brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot. These German purity laws, written in 1516, governed the production of beer, its ingredients, and its price. St. Pauli Girl is brewed with a special strain of yeast, as well as glacier water and German hops. 

Today, St. Pauli Girl is hard to track down in some markets and reviews online paint it as a pretty average beer. That said, it's described as a light lager that brings forth malt notes without being sweet. The bitterness is not overwhelming, and hops are present on the nose from the jump. 

Back in the day, this German beer was practically a signature of Newman's, as well known as his blue eyes. A 1977 profile in the New York Times mentioned that locals in his home of Westport stocked up on St. Pauli Girl because it was the actor's favorite beer. There are candid photos of Newman in which he appears to be holding four bottles, confirming he enjoyed it as much as was claimed.

St. Pauli Girl used to be known for how it was advertised as much as how it tasted. The brewery claimed it was the number two German lager in the U.S., though ironically it was never sold in Germany and was made for export only. Starting in 1982, the company behind the beer would hire yearly spokesmodels to be the official St. Pauli Girl. If you can find a bottle in your area, maybe you can pair it with one of Newman's Own frozen pizzas. Or at least a side salad with some Newman's Own salad dressing.