Colt 45 Malt Liquor 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Colt 45 Malt Liquor Phoenix Tab Top

This straight steel, 12-ounce tab top can represents a classic release from the period following The National Brewing Company's western manufacturing expansion. The label is distinguished by mandatory brewery text listing four packaging locations, specifically including canning operations at the Phoenix, Arizona facility alongside Baltimore, Detroit, and Miami. The face displays the recognizable deep blue typography set above the brand's signature red stallion leaping across a fence within a golden horseshoe, accompanied by the bold "Malt Liquor" subtitle and the "By National" designation.

National Brewing introduced Colt 45 in 1963 to challenge the established dominance of Country Club in the expanding malt liquor category. Positioned to emphasize strength and vigor, the brand adopted the kicking stallion emblem to signify its potent character. Colt 45 grew into a cultural mainstay supported by high-profile advertising campaigns featuring clever, unflappable spokesmen awaiting life's unexpected moments, eventually becoming one of the most widely recognized malt liquor labels in American brewing history.

The National Brewing Company was founded in 1885 in the Highlandtown neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. The brewery survived Prohibition by adapting its operations and emerged during the mid-20th century as a dominant regional power under the leadership of Jerold Hoffberger. Seeking national distribution, the company expanded beyond the Mid-Atlantic by acquiring production plants across the United States, including the purchase of the Phoenix, Arizona plant in 1966. In 1975, National merged with Carling to form Carling-National Breweries, which was later absorbed into G. Heileman, with its historic labels eventually joining the Pabst portfolio.

Vintage malt liquor cans from the straight-steel tab top era form a popular focus among breweriana collectors. Examples bearing specific regional manufacturing statements, such as the Phoenix facility line, are appreciated for documenting the aggressive geographic expansion and canning history of major independent brewers during the late 1960s.