Blatz Beer Pint Can

Blatz King Size 15 oz Flat Top

This steel flat top can stands out for its unconventional 15-fluid-ounce volume, designated at the top as "KING SIZE" rather than the standard 16-ounce half-quart pint. The can features the sharp triangular chevron logo and carries a 1952 copyright notice on its face. Crucially, the mandatory statement at the base confirms that it was brewed and packed in Los Angeles, California, by the Pabst Brewing Company, reflecting the period following Pabst's acquisition of the brand.

Valentin Blatz founded the Blatz brand after taking control of John Braun's City Brewery in Milwaukee in 1851. Blatz quickly modernized operations, becoming an innovator in bottling and national distribution to establish itself alongside Pabst, Miller, and Schlitz as one of Milwaukee's brewing titans. Promoted heavily throughout the twentieth century under the banner "Milwaukee's Finest Beer" and with memorable broadcast jingles, the brand was sold to Schenley Industries in 1943. Pabst purchased Blatz in 1958, though a protracted federal antitrust battle ultimately forced Pabst to divest the brand to the G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1969.

Pabst itself originated in Milwaukee in 1844 as the Best and Company brewery, achieving national prominence under the leadership of Captain Frederick Pabst. Surviving Prohibition by producing cheese and malt extract, Pabst aggressively expanded its postwar footprint through nationwide acquisition. In 1948, Pabst bought the Los Angeles Brewing Company—maker of Eastside Beer—giving the company an established production plant on the West Coast to brew Pabst products locally without paying cross-country freight costs.

For breweriana enthusiasts, 15-ounce containers represent a captivating collecting niche. These odd-sized packages emerged primarily in Western markets due to regional pricing strategies and packaging taxes of the era. Featuring the historic Milwaukee trademark wrapped in a design produced at a California plant during a turbulent corporate takeover, this can serves as an evocative artifact of mid-century brewing consolidation.