Encore Brewmaster's Private Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Schlitz Encore Straight Steel Tab Top

This 12-ounce straight steel tab top container dates to 1970 and features an eye-catching metallic gold and white label. Notable for its graphic composition, the can displays a heraldic crest flanked by a lion and unicorn beneath the founding year "1849," along with the descriptive subtitle "Brewmaster's Private Recipe Beer." The lower rim features mandatory manufacturing text across eight plant cities—including Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Brooklyn, New York; Tampa, Florida; and Longview, Texas—with brewery information printed bold-faced.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company developed Encore as an upscale, super-premium brand intended to compete directly with high-end lagers like Anheuser-Busch's Michelob. Positioned as a richer, more refined product from the brewer's cellars, advertising campaigns highlighted it as a special indulgence crafted through generations of brewing tradition. Schlitz marketed the brand with high-concept promotional music and television spots, though the label saw relatively brief national traction before being retired as market dynamics shifted toward lighter entries later in the decade.

The Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company traces its origins back to August Krug's Milwaukee brewery in 1849, later taken over and renamed by Joseph Schlitz in the 1850s. The brewery rose to national prominence after supplying beer to Chicago in the aftermath of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, coining its famous slogan, "The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous." For much of the twentieth century, Schlitz battled for the top spot among American brewers, navigating Prohibition through non-alcoholic malt products and expanding rapidly with modern multi-plant production nationwide. However, severe quality-control missteps in the 1970s and fierce competition eroded consumer confidence, leading to the brewery's acquisition by the Stroh Brewery Company in 1982.

Among breweriana collectors, Encore cans from this era represent an intriguing snapshot of the major national breweries testing premium tier branding in the early pull tab age. The bold heraldic iconography and metallic finish make it a distinctive centerpiece among Milwaukee brewing artifacts.