Du Bois Budweiser Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

The Story of Du Bois Budweiser Beer

This 12-ounce straight steel tab top can represents one of the most famous trademark anomalies in American brewing history. Dating from the late 1960s, the design features a metallic gold background framing a central white oval that displays the brand name in elegant script beneath a heraldic crest depicting a knight’s helmet and a rampant lion shield. Directly beneath the oval, the label features the phrase "Premium Quality."

The brand was introduced in 1905 by Du Bois Brewing Company founder Frank Hahne. At the time, many brewers regarded "Budweiser" as a descriptive designation denoting beer produced according to the Bohemian brewing tradition of Budweis rather than as an exclusive trademark. This led to a decades-long legal conflict with Anheuser-Busch. Although Anheuser-Busch filed an infringement suit in 1908, it soon withdrew the action. When the St. Louis brewer renewed litigation in 1940, a federal appellate court ruled in 1949 that Anheuser-Busch had delayed too long under the doctrine of laches, permitting Du Bois to continue marketing its regional Budweiser across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York.

The Du Bois Brewing Company was founded in 1896 in Du Bois, Pennsylvania, selected largely for the pristine water supply flowing from Anderson Creek. Hahne purchased thousands of acres around the local reservoir to protect the watershed, making mountain spring water a central feature of the company's marketing. The brewery grew into a formidable regional producer, successfully surviving Prohibition by producing cereal beverages and soft drinks before resuming regular brewing operations upon Repeal. In 1967, the Pittsburgh Brewing Company acquired the brewery. Continued legal pressure and shifting market dynamics brought an end to the brand, and the Du Bois facility permanently closed in 1972.

For breweriana collectors, cans bearing the Du Bois Budweiser label hold lasting appeal. They represent an extraordinary chapter of industrial and legal history, standing as tangible artifacts from the only American regional brewer that successfully defended its right to use the Budweiser name against a national brewing giant.