“Wish you were beer”—a drinking pun on “Wish you were here”—is a saying that has been printed on many images.“Wish You Were Beer” was the title of songs on YouTube in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
 
“Wish you were beer” has been cited in print since at least August 20, 1943, when the Chicago (IL) Daily Tribune printed:
 
“As the vacationer said while picking up the bottle of milk from the porch of his summer cottage. ‘Having wonderful time—wish you were beer.’ Guy Finamore”
 
“What did the bottle write on the postcard?”/“Wish you were beer!” is a riddle on this saying.
     
     
20 August 1943, Chicago (IL) Daily Tribune, “In the Wake of the News” by Arch Ward, sec. 2, pg. 21, col. 3:
And No Kidding.
As the vacationer said while picking up the bottle of milk from the porch of his summer cottage. “Having wonderful time—wish you were beer.”
Guy Finamore
   
14 October 1969, Burlington (VT) Free Press, “The Old-Timer Says,” pg. 14, col. 2:
An ad for a wine company in a New York subway depicts a man and a woman drinking the firm’s product, with the following caption under the picture: “Having a wonderful wine.” A wishful addition has been added to one poster, in pencil: “Wish you were beer.”
 
23 August 1995, Detroit (MI) News, “Perfect Guide for what ales you” by Tom Greenwood, pg. 14D, col. 2:
If Bob Klein ever sent you a postcard, it’d probably read: “Having a wonderful wine, wish you were beer.”
         
Twitter
Jim Callender
@JimCallender
Bart Simpson t>shirt quotes: ‘top of the dude chain’, ‘wish you were beer’
4:52 AM - 6 Mar 2007
 
Google Books
Title How I Wish You Were Beer: Lined Notebook/Journal 7x10
Author Agridulce
Publisher CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016
ISBN 1537526146, 9781537526140
Length 100 pages
 
YouTube
Wish You Were Beer (Official Lyric Video)
Leaving Austin
Published on Aug 18, 2016
Latest single from Leaving Austin titled “Wish You Were Beer”.
   
YouTube
Dustin Lynch - I Wish You Were Beer (Official Audio)
Dustin Lynch
Published on Sep 7, 2017
Listen to Dustin Lynch’s new album, Current Mood, including “I Wish You Were Beer” here: https://dustinlynch.lnk.to/currentmood
   
YouTube
The Reklaws - Wish You Were Beer (Audio) ft. James Barker Band
The Reklaws
Published on Feb 15, 2018
The Reklaws - Wish You Were Beer [Official Music Video]
 
Elite Daily
28 Clever Instagram Captions About Travel, Because You’re Forever Catching Flights
BY CIARA JOHNSON
October 10, 2018
(...)
7. “Wish you were beer.” ― Unknown