Brickskeller Saloon Lager Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Brickskeller Saloon Style Lager

This 12-ounce crimped steel tab top can dates to the late 1970s, produced as a custom house release for a landmark American beer establishment. The front of the can features an evocative Victorian-era saloon illustration showing four formally dressed gentlemen raising chalices of foaming golden beer beneath ornate period-style lettering. Mandatory text printed vertically along the side seam identifies the manufacturer as the Pittsburgh Brewing Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Brickskeller Saloon Style Lager served as a proprietary private label for The Brickskeller, the historic saloon and dining lounge in Washington, D.C.. Established in 1957 near Dupont Circle, The Brickskeller earned international renown and a Guinness World Record for maintaining the largest commercial beer selection in the world. To honor traditional tavern hospitality and offer patrons their own distinctive house brew, the establishment contracted regional brewers to package commemorative, vintage-themed cans.

The beer inside was contract brewed and packaged by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company. Founded in 1861 by German immigrant Edward Frauenheim as the Iron City Brewery, the company expanded rapidly in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. In 1899, it merged with roughly a dozen other regional producers to form the modern Pittsburgh Brewing Company. The facility survived Prohibition by producing non-alcoholic cereal beverages and soft drinks, eventually rebounding to become an industry innovator—notably pioneering the first commercial pull-tab beer cans in the early 1960s. During the 1970s and 1980s, the brewery frequently used its packaging lines to produce specialty contract brands alongside its flagship Iron City labels.

Among breweriana collectors, this can holds special significance at the crossroads of classic steel tab-top design and historic bar culture. Because it is directly tied to one of the nation's most famous historic gathering places for beer enthusiasts, it remains a favorite item for collectors of tavern-themed and specialty contract breweriana.