I did a little Q&A in March with Artist/Sculptor A.J. Fosik about his awesome Beer Sweater Collection. Now that we’re in Sweater weather, I felt it was the appropriate time to unleash it.
“It’s true, my beer sweater collection has reared it’s ugly head.” ~ A.J. Fosik

TWBE: How did this collection begin?
AJ:I’ve always liked breweriana and was always interested in the history of beer in america, it’s crazy how every city used to have it’s own beer identity before these were just considered national brands.
I found the yellow Coors sweater first and I really thought that somebody had hand made it and it was just a one of a kind thing. Then I noticed the Budweiser sweaters which there are definitely a ton of out there, and then I sort of pieced it together that at one time all the major breweries were making these things.
TWBE:Are there any holy grails you’re looking for? Or is it just a matter whatever you come across on your day-to-day?
AJ:Holy Grails? I don’t know the Pabst sweater was a pretty good score for me, it’s never been worn and still has all the tags on it, it’s the closest I’ve ever been to understanding the mind of the obsessive sneaker collector nerds.
I’m not usually into that sort of obsessive collecting thing but when I discovered these sweaters I felt like I was putting together the pieces of a weird cultural phenomenon that nobody knew existed. It’s a really trivial phenomenon for sure but the pop culture archaeology aspect of it is the most intriguing part to me.
I also don’t really know what sweaters are out there, I’ve never been able to find any information on which beer companies made these. I tried to contact the manufacturer on the label of Pabst sweater but they’ve been long out of business. Hopefully there are more out there.
TWBE: We hope so too, thank A.J.!
See his entire collection here