Blitz Weinhard Select Beer Flat Top Can

Blitz Weinhard Select Beer Flat Top

This 12-ounce flat top can represents a classic mid-century packaging design from Portland, Oregon's renowned Blitz-Weinhard Company. Dating from the 1950s, this specific version is distinguished by its dull gold accents framing the central cream oval against a finely pinstriped blue background. The label incorporates a mandatory tax statement specifying that the beverage does not contain more than four percent alcohol by weight, along with the emblem of the United States Brewers Foundation centered near the bottom rim.

Blitz Weinhard Select served as the signature regional lager of the Pacific Northwest during the postwar era. Marketed as a refreshing, dependable staple brewed with pure mountain water and local ingredients, the brand dominated grocery shelves and tavern taps across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. The brand retained immense regional loyalty for decades, providing the foundation for the brewery to later introduce specialty lagers that helped pave the way for the modern craft beer movement before the label was eventually absorbed during broader industry shifts.

The brewery's heritage traces back to German immigrant Henry Weinhard, who established brewing operations in the Pacific Northwest in 1856 and acquired Portland's City Brewery in 1862. Over the late 19th century, Weinhard built the enterprise into one of the largest breweries in the American West. To navigate the challenges of Prohibition, the company produced soft drinks and near-beer, formally merging with Arnold Blitz's operations in 1928 to become the Blitz-Weinhard Company. Resuming full production upon Repeal in 1933, the landmark Burnside Street brewery remained family-operated through decades of national consolidation before being sold to Pabst in 1979 and eventually closing in 1999.

For breweriana enthusiasts, mid-century Blitz-Weinhard flat tops are cornerstones of Pacific Northwest regional collections. The can is prized for its balanced mid-century graphics, classic Germanic blackletter typography, and the subtle variations found across its metallic trim and alcohol percentage declarations.