Brew 102 Pale Dry Beer 16 Oz Tab Top Can

Brew 102 Half Quart Tab Top Can

This 16-ounce straight steel tab top can dates to the early 1970s and carries the mandatory brewery statement for General Brewing Company in Los Angeles, California. A prominent graphic element on the face is the bright yellow factory-printed price spot advertising "6 For $1.35". The central design displays an illustrated, effervescent pilsner glass flanked by bold white numerals, accompanied by the text "NEW Pale Dry BREW 102 Beer" and the brand's long-running slogan banner, "PERFECTED AFTER 101 BREWS". The lower portion of the can explicitly highlights the volume with bold "HALF QUART BEER" and "NET CONTENTS ONE PINT" markings.

Brew 102 was originally introduced in the early 1950s by the Maier Brewing Company. The brand's identity was built around the promotional story that brewmasters formulated and rejected 101 separate test batches before settling on the ideal recipe on the 102nd try. Aggressively marketed as an accessible, value-priced lager, Brew 102 became a ubiquitous cultural fixture throughout Southern California, widely consumed by working-class families and university students for decades.

The operation behind the brand traced its heritage back to 1874 with the establishment of the Philadelphia Brewery in Los Angeles. In 1882, it became Maier & Zobelein, later incorporating as the Maier Brewing Company in 1907 at its landmark facility on East Commercial Street. Maier survived Prohibition by bottling low-alcohol near-beer and soft drinks before resuming full-strength production after repeal. In 1958, brewing financier Paul Kalmanovitz acquired the business, later running it under the General Brewing Company banner until the historic downtown Los Angeles facility closed its doors in 1974.

For breweriana collectors, this can serves as an evocative artifact of West Coast brewing history and mid-century retail culture. Sixteen-ounce half-quarts from regional producers hold strong appeal among can historians, and cans featuring factory-printed price promotions provide an authentic look into the competitive supermarket strategies of the era.