gunsmoke true west
A scene from Gunsmoke

A Westerns staple is the saloon, where men went to meet, gamble, and drink.  For the most part, the movie booze was fake—tea or colored water stood in for whiskey and beer, while a whipped, refined sugar was used to create the foam head. Producers didn’t use the real thing for fear that the actors would get drunk over a span of several takes.

But it appears that the beer on Gunsmoke was the real deal.  James Arness was quoted as saying that low-alcohol beer was used to maintain at least some sobriety on the set.

Related Articles

  • marshall trimble ask the marshall true west magazine

    Did frontier saloons serve cold beer? Sandy Davis St. Paul, Minnesota Ice making machines began…

  • Sam Strawhun and his pals had been wreaking havoc on John Bitter’s Saloon in Hays…

  • summer-harvest-beer-ginger-beer_lemons

    Ginger beer is the favorite drink in all parts of the country for use in…