Falstaff Salutes Beer 12 Oz Can

Direct-Delivery Appeal to Consumers

During the 1970s American Bicentennial era, brewing magnate Paul Kalmanovitz turned beer packaging into an active grassroots political campaign. Kalmanovitz, who headed General Brewing Company and took control of Falstaff Brewing Corporation, utilized the back panel of this aluminum can to address beer drinkers directly regarding pending California legislation.

Framed inside an illustrated unfurled parchment scroll flanked by red and blue ribbon borders, the bold red header reads "URGENT—PLEASE READ". The printed message warns customers that California Assembly Bill 2938, then being considered by the state legislature in Sacramento, threatened the brewery's long-standing post-Prohibition practice of making direct deliveries to retailers. Kalmanovitz argued that forcing breweries to operate exclusively through independent distributors would line distributor pockets while imposing higher prices on everyday consumers.

To combat the bill, the text urges consumers to protect their pocketbooks by writing to their local assemblymen, state senators, consumer advocates, and California Governor Jerry Brown. The appeal concludes with Kalmanovitz's printed signature in vibrant red script as Chairman of the Board.

Produced under General Brewing, this version features two brewery cities on the container and includes an "SF" stamping on the lid to denote its San Francisco origin. While the back panel delivers this impassioned legislative message, the front face carries the shared patriotic design established across the brewery's standard Bicentennial commemorative releases. Several variations of Kalmanovitz’s consumer letters and bicentennial packaging were distributed across regional markets, making this direct-delivery protest can a memorable piece of brewing industry political history.