Altes Golden Lager Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Altes Golden Lager: Michigan Fassbier

This 12-ounce tab top can features Altes Golden Lager Beer, produced as a drawn and ironed container by Carling-National Breweries, Inc. in Frankenmuth, Michigan. A defining aspect of this specific can variation is the absence of a Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode on the label. Prominently displayed across the front is the German-inspired marketing campaign proclaiming "Tastes Like Fassbier Draft Beer", accompanied at the bottom by an elaborate bilingual German-English guarantee in Gothic and standard script explaining that Fassbier means draft beer.

The Brand

The Altes brand traces its heritage to Detroit, Michigan, where it was originally created in 1910 by the Tivoli Brewing Company. Formulated to replicate traditional European-style pale lagers for Detroit's growing industrial workforce, it was marketed with memorable slogans ranging from "the beer that bewitches" in its early days to "the brisk beer with sealed in flavor" during the 1940s. By the 1960s, Altes heavily promoted its "Fassbier" draft-style processing to compete against burgeoning national lagers, promising genuine tap flavor in packaged containers. Over the decades, ownership changes and shifting consumer tastes caused the legacy brand to fade, though it remains a revered classic in Michigan brewing lore.

The Brewery

The Frankenmuth brewing facility behind this can originated in 1862 in the German-settled community of Frankenmuth, Michigan. Operating for decades as the Frankenmuth Brewing Company, it survived Prohibition through near-beer and ice production before modernizing post-repeal. In the 1950s, the plant was acquired by the Carling Brewing Company, an aggressive Canadian multinational that expanded rapidly across the United States. In 1975, Carling merged with the National Brewing Company of Baltimore to form Carling-National Breweries, Inc., which operated the Frankenmuth plant until the late 1970s when the company was absorbed by the G. Heileman Brewing Company.

Collecting Context

For collectors of Michigan breweriana and 1970s pull tab cans, this Altes Fassbier variation holds particular interest. It captures the mid-1970s transition period of Carling-National ownership just before barcodes became mandatory industry-wide. The decorative typography and dual-language draft guarantee make it a favorite for regional brand specialists and those documenting the lineage of historic Great Lakes regional beers.