Quite a while back, I used to make a living swinging a hammer, doing carpentry work, often with one of my older brothers who worked in the trade. Folks, this was  a thirsty job, especially in the unforgiving heat of a Florida summer, so where’s the first place we headed after quittin’ time? To the local convenience store for a cold one, of course.

Unfortunately, because paychecks only came once a week, it often meant the cheapest one.  In this case, that meant “QT.”

Pooling our change, my brother and I purchased a full six-pack  of  icy cold “Quittin’ Time” beer. I’ve drank some really, really nasty brews before – one time I even got drunk at a neighbor’s Old Milwaukee keg party – but never such skunky swill as this. Two sips after opening it, my taste buds revolted and started sending messages to my stomach to prepare for a hurling if I continued this unprecedented assault.

Luckily, my brain took note of the hurried missives, and I poured out the rest onto the ground (a rare action on my part).

My more stalwart brother finished the other five.

Here’s what Wikipedia says about QT beer in its entry for the QuikTrip chain of convenience stores:

“QuikTrip had its own branded goods marketed from the 1970s-1980s, including QT Beer — QT for ‘Quittin’ Time.’ The ad campaign would say that it was ‘QT Time,’ and would often show a dog named Lamar. The dog’s owner was portrayed in television commercials by actor Ben Jones, who often asked the dog, ‘Ain’t that right, Lamar?’”

Wrong, Lamar. And isn’t “QT Time” redundant?

If you have a beer can collection and would like to share a photo and story, e-mail it to gerard@roadtripsforbeer.com.