Beer Label, Cook's 500 Ale, F.W. Cook Brewing Co., Race Car, NOS, Original, Vintage 1950s

Some labels sold beer. This one sold speed.

This is an original New Old Stock label for Cook's 500 Ale, brewed by the F.W. Cook Brewing Company of Evansville, Indiana — a gilded paper label featuring a race car crossing the finish line under a checkered flag, circa 1950s. Never used, never attached to a bottle. Found at the F.W. Cook Company itself. Six available.

This is a label only. No frame is included. It is suitable for framing and we recommend doing so to preserve its condition.

The image is pure mid-century American confidence: a race car at full speed, the checkered flag dropping, gold ink catching the light. Cook's leaned into the Indianapolis 500 — Evansville is just 170 miles south of the Speedway, and this label knew exactly what it was doing. The gilding is intact and visible in the photographs. A small, perfect artifact of American breweriana at its most exuberant.

The F.W. Cook Brewing Company has a story worth knowing. Founded in 1853 by Frederick Washington Cook and Jacob Rice as the City Brewery, it grew over the following decades into a full city block operation on 7th Street — ice house, malt house, stable, offices. After Rice's death in 1885 it was renamed F.W. Cook Brewing Co. Survived two major fires (1891 and 1905), survived Prohibition, completed an extensive renovation in 1950 — and then quietly closed by 1957. This label comes from those final years. The Cook's name was revived in 2018 by Copper Mountain Beverage, but these labels are the original article.

Frame it for a bar, a rec room, a racing display, or alongside other vintage breweriana. A genuine piece of American brewing and motorsport history in one small gilded label.

A wonderful gift for a breweriana collector, a racing enthusiast, a lover of mid-century Americana, or anyone whose bar wall deserves something with a real story behind it.

• Label: Cook's 500 Ale, F.W. Cook Brewing Co., Evansville, Indiana
• Made in: USA
• Dated: circa 1950s
• Dimensions: 4.5" wide
• Condition: New Old Stock (NOS) — unused, excellent mint condition. Please review all photos carefully — we cannot accept returns.
• Note: Label only — no frame included.