If a freshly painted ad on a building in Dogtown has you thirsting for a frothy mug of Alpen Brau beer, you're out of luck.

The beer is not available in taverns.

But luckily for the Dogtown Historical Society, Lonnie Tettaton is still around. He has been painting advertisements on the sides of buildings for years. He is what is called a "wall dog."

While Tettaton, 69, of Hazelwood, has done original works, the Alpen Brau sign he finished last week was a restoration of a ghost sign - a brick wall advertisement that faded over the years and could barely be seen.

It reads, "Saloon. Our new special brew: Alpen Brau. D.T. Coyne."

The historical society collected money to have Tettaton paint the sign on the outside wall of the Dogtown Gallery and Frame Shop, 1206 Tamm Ave.

Tettaton stood on a scaffold and looked at a paper showing the design, so he could use black chalk to outline the faded letters. He then painted over them with a base coat of white before repainting the sign.

A crowd gathered while Tettaton and his crew worked. They were glad the sign was being restored. But some people prefer ghost signs to keep their faded appearance.

Tettaton repainted a Bull Durham tobacco ad on a brick wall along the main street of Collinsville, Ill. Some people there didn't want it repainted.

William Stage of the Lafayette Square neighborhood watched Tettaton painting the Alpen Brau sign. Stage wrote a book called "Ghost Signs: Brick Wall Signs in America."

"With some painters who don't know how to do it right, it would have been better if they'd have left it alone," Stage said. "If Lonnie is doing it, it's fine. Lonnie is an archivist. He does it right."

The Dogtown Historical Society raised the money to have Tettaton paint the sign. John Corbett, president of the society, admired Tettaton's work.

"He's a master. I'm so glad we got him," Corbett said.

Someone brought an old metal Alpen Brau can from the 1960s. Bob Corbett, John Corbett's brother, held up the can and exclaimed, "Look at this. Look at this."

"They're so enthusiastic," said Mary Vandervort of Des Peres, owner of the building. "See how excited they're getting. We were immediately on board with the Dogtown Historical Society when they brought it to our attention.

"I learned more about Lonnie and the history of these signs in St. Louis and it just made sense."

The Dogtown Historical Society will present a history of the Alpen Brau ghost sign at 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, at St. James the Greater School, 1360 Tamm Ave.

Henry Herbst, a member of the society's board, will talk about the history of brewing in St. Louis, the founding in 1892 of the Columbia Brewing Company, makers of Alpen Brau, and the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. It was at this World's Fair in St. Louis that Alpen Brau was introduced.

The building first appeared in a city directory as the saloon of D.T. Coyne in 1905. The sign is now on the side of the building that faces an alley between the gallery and Seamus McDaniel's.