Grand Prize Beer was once one of Texas' biggest beer brands. Brewed by Houston's Gulf Brewing Company beginning in the 1930s, right after Prohibition was lifted, it became the beer of choice for generations of working Texans, backyard barbecues, neighborhood ice houses and Friday afternoons that quietly became Friday evenings, complete with fireflies and kids playing in the yard.

Grand Prize was actually the most popular beer in Texas by 1936 and stayed super-popular into the 1950s and 1960s. Eccentric playboy engineer Howard Hughes founded the company, and the brewery was located right there on the grounds of Hughes Tool Company on Houston's east side.

This sturdy little beer glass represents the brand beautifully. You don't see glasses this size very often. Bigger than a shot glass, smaller than a pint. And I love the elegant shape. The white Grand Prize logo is clean, bold and unmistakably mid-century, the kind of branding designed to be recognized instantly across a dimly lit downtown bar. You can almost picture it sitting on a scarred wooden table beside a bowl of peanuts while a bartender in a paper hat pulls another draft.

I found this wonderful little glass at an antiques stall on Houston's west side last summer, tucked into what looked like a box from an estate sale. When I saw it, I couldn't help but wonder how many Houstonians had held it and who they were—NASA engineers preparing for a moon launch? Some local machinist racing the clock on a refinery turnaround? A deal-making lawyer? A mom watching her kids play in the sprinkler out back?

Beer glasses occupy an unusual place in collecting. Unlike signs or advertising displays, this little guy actually participated in history, first-person style. It was meant to be used. Lifted hundreds of times. Clinked together after promotions, birthdays, weddings, Astros wins and maybe even the moon landing.

Unlike many surviving examples, the graphics on this petite beer glass remain bright and attractive, making it an excellent display piece even when empty. Better still, it's perfectly capable of doing what it was originally designed to do if you happen to enjoy your cold beer with a nostalgia chaser.

Details

• Original Grand Prize Beer glass

• White screened Grand Prize graphics

• Good overall condition

• Heavy glass construction

• Approximately 2" diameter × 3.25" tall

• Foam mustache not included

As an aside, Grand Prize is back. The brewmasters at Saint Arnold Brewing Company brought the brand back to life, and it is seriously one of my favorite beers. Highly recommended.