Andy's Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Andy's Beer: A Schell Contract Can

Andy's Beer was a private-label house brand brewed and packaged by the historic August Schell Brewing Company of New Ulm, Minnesota. The can was commissioned specifically for Andy's Liquor (often associated with Andy's Crossroads) in Rochester, Minnesota.

During the height of the beer can collecting boom in the late 1970s, August Schell kept its canning lines active by partnering with regional distributors, festivals, and independent retailers to produce short-run custom brands. Andy's Beer emerged from this era, serving both as retail store stock and as an intentional draw for breweriana hobbyists who eagerly sought out regional oddities.

The can design prominently highlights its regional connection with an outline map of Minnesota, featuring a star precisely placed to mark the location of Rochester. For collectors assembling display shelves, Andy's Beer is widely known for having several distinct color variations across the map outline and background accents, including versions rendered in red, blue, green, yellow, and brown.

Contract cans like Andy's Beer played a noteworthy role in August Schell's mid-to-late twentieth-century survival strategy, allowing the independent brewery to maintain production volume when national mega-breweries dominated the market. Today, the can remains a sought-after piece of Upper Midwest breweriana.