Base Brau Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

1978 Base Brau Appleton Foxes Can

Produced in 1978, this 12-ounce straight steel tab top can was issued as a commemorative beer for the Appleton Foxes, a minor league baseball club based in Appleton, Wisconsin. The front face features the team’s stylized interlocking "AF" monogram framing a detailed baseball graphic, accompanied by the bold "Base Brau" moniker, "Appleton Foxes Beer," and the prominent year designation "1978" centered at the bottom. Running vertically along the side seam is the mandatory volume statement denoting twelve fluid ounces.

Base Brau emerged from an ambitious marketing promotion devised by the Appleton Foxes, who were competing in the Class A Midwest League as an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. Word of the specialty brew leaked in early 1978, prompting widespread excitement and mail-in orders from across the country before the can design had even been finalized. Formally introduced for the 1978 season, the beer was poured at Goodland Field during designated "Base Brau Nights" and sold through stadium souvenir stands. To fuel fan interest and meet unprecedented demand from collectors, the club released the 1978 label in multiple color schemes and continued the Base Brau tradition over subsequent baseball seasons.

Contracted to brew and package the beer was the Stevens Point Brewery of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Established in 1857, Stevens Point Brewery ranks among the oldest continuously operating breweries in the United States. During Prohibition, the company survived by manufacturing near beer and soft drinks before resuming traditional lager brewing upon repeal. Throughout the mid-to-late twentieth century, as national consolidation shuttered dozens of regional breweries, Stevens Point persevered thanks to fierce regional loyalty to its flagship Point Special, ultimately sustaining its independent operational identity into the craft brewing era.

Base Brau cans hold a celebrated position in collecting circles because they bridge the worlds of breweriana and professional sports memorabilia. Embodying the peak of the late-1970s promotional can craze, this debut 1978 release remains an iconic artifact of Wisconsin minor league baseball history.