Fauerbach CB Pilsner Beer 12 Oz Zip Top Can

Madison's Fauerbach CB Pilsner Can

This straight steel twelve-ounce zip top can represents the final packaging chapter of the Fauerbach Brewing Company of Madison, Wisconsin. Set against an ice-blue field with a dark blue diagonal banner, the label is distinguished by detailed storytelling artwork seldom seen on beer cans of its era. Below the bold red "BEER" typography rests a horizontal chain of four interlocking golden medallions illustrating the script slogan "For Generations." The medallions narrate the passage of American and Wisconsin history: a pioneer covered wagon in wilderness, a homestead with a horse and carriage, the dome of the Wisconsin State Capitol positioned behind a mid-century automobile, and a soaring urban skyline beneath a propeller airplane. At the upper left, a heraldic crest displays the "CB" initials bordered by a wheat wreath and three foaming pilsner glasses.

Fauerbach introduced the "CB" designation originally as "Centennial Brew" to celebrate its landmark brewing anniversary, later shortening the name to CB while promoting it as "A Very Fine Pilsener Beer". The brand was marketed around regional heritage and family continuity, using the "For Generations" theme to appeal to loyal Wisconsin consumers as large national shipping breweries began to squeeze regional producers. The label ceased production when the brewery shuttered operations in 1966.

The Fauerbach Brewing Company traced its site lineage back to 1848, the year Wisconsin achieved statehood, when a small brewhouse was established along the shore of Lake Monona on Madison's Williamson Street. German immigrant Peter Fauerbach acquired the plant in 1868, modernizing operations before the business incorporated under the family name in 1890. Steered by four successive generations of the family, Fauerbach survived Prohibition by bottling non-alcoholic near-beer, manufacturing soda water, and selling ice, becoming the only pre-Prohibition Madison brewery to successfully reopen after Repeal in 1933. While the company maintained deep roots in local social and sporting life, escalating postwar market competition forced the venerable brewery to permanently halt brewing in 1966.

Madison was home to only a single brewery that canned beer prior to 1970, giving Fauerbach cans special standing among Wisconsin collectors. This zip top variation remains especially admired for its artistic vignettes honoring local capital city landmarks and historical progress.