Iron City Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Iron City Snap Top History

The Iron City Beer 12 oz tab top can holds a landmark place in breweriana history. Produced by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this container represents the pivotal moment when self-opening beverage cans entered the commercial mainstream.

In the early 1960s, Pittsburgh Brewing partnered with the Pittsburgh-based Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) to commercially test and launch the tab top closure developed from Ermal Fraze's design. Following a successful regional market test in Staunton, Virginia, the brewery rolled out the feature across its primary canned production lines, sparking a rapid industry-wide transition across American brewing.

Pittsburgh Brewing heavily promoted the innovation on the can body itself, initially printing promotional banner text such as "New Easy Open Snap Top" and later proclaiming the brand as "No. 1 With The Snap Top". The brewery was fiercely protective of this packaging milestone, even filing a lawsuit against crosstown rival Duquesne Brewing over the commercial use of the "Snap Top" terminology.

For collectors, the Iron City tab top series represents a crucial milestone in beverage packaging. Multiple variations exist across these early runs, featuring differences in side-panel slogans, rim construction, and top-lid stamped instructional phrasing. Building on the popularity of these cans, Pittsburgh Brewing later became an early pioneer in releasing commemorative and sports-themed tab tops, making this classic Iron City can a cornerstone piece for any collection.