Iron City Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

The Pioneer of the Pull Tab

The Iron City Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can, produced by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, holds a landmark place in breweriana history. In 1962, Pittsburgh Brewing Company partnered with the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) to introduce the first commercial self-opening pull-tab beverage can, utilizing a mechanism adapted from Ohio inventor Ermal Fraze.

The can was initially test-marketed in Staunton, Virginia, in September 1962. The packaging proved an immediate commercial triumph, with sales in the test market doubling within two months. Following this success, Pittsburgh Brewing Company converted its regular canned production to the tab-top format in early 1963, reporting that canned sales tripled in the first quarter of widespread distribution. The overwhelming consumer response prompted breweries across the nation to quickly adopt tab closures.

For collectors, the Iron City tab top represents a watershed moment in beverage container manufacturing. Known variations highlight the brewery's promotional campaign as the innovation caught on. Early releases featured prominent text heralding the "New Easy Open Snap Top." Once competitor breweries adopted their own pull tabs, Pittsburgh Brewing updated the graphics to read "No. 1 With The Snap Top" to reinforce their first-to-market status. Lid variations also reflect the progression of early tab engineering, transitioning from flat, raw-edge pull rings to versions with rolled edges and embossed smile beads.