Dixie Beer 12 Oz Stay Top Can

Dixie Beer CANvention XXIII Can

This 12-ounce aluminum stay-top can was issued as a commemorative release for the Beer Can Collectors of America (BCCA) CANvention XXIII, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1993. Produced by the local Dixie Brewing Company in partnership with the organization's host Mardi Gras Chapter, the design prominently features the chapter's insignia: a cartoon figure playing a slide trombone beneath a golden crown, celebrating the musical heritage of the host city. Flanked by metric and standard volume markings, the front face proudly reads "Mardi Gras Chapter BCCA NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA welcomes Beer Can Collectors of America CANVENTION XXIII".

Dixie Beer was introduced in 1907 and quickly established itself as the flagship lager of New Orleans. Long marketed as the quintessential Southern brew, Dixie built its identity around the culture, cuisine, and celebrations of Louisiana. Throughout the twentieth century, its advertising leaned heavily into regional pride, positioning the lager as a beloved staple of local seafood boils, jazz halls, and Carnival festivities. Decades after this convention release, the historic brand underwent a transition, ultimately rebranding as Faubourg Brewing Company.

The Dixie Brewing Company was founded by German immigrant Valentine Merz on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans in 1907. The brewery weathered Prohibition by producing non-alcoholic cereal beverages and operating an ice-making plant, emerging after repeal as a dominant regional player. As national brewing giants consolidated the American beer landscape during the postwar decades, Dixie remained one of the few surviving independent breweries in the Deep South. Despite enduring financial turbulence and catastrophic flooding during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the brewery's legacy survived through new stewardship.

Commemorative cans produced for annual BCCA CANventions represent a cherished cross-section of breweriana collecting. Because they document specific milestone gatherings hosted by regional chapters across the country, these convention issues provide a direct historical connection between the organized collecting hobby and local American brewing traditions.