Iron City Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

The First Pull-Tab Beer Can

Pittsburgh Brewing Company secured an enduring place in breweriana history with the Iron City Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can. In 1962, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania brewery partnered with the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) to test-market a self-opening closure. Developed from an invention by Ermal Fraze, the design eliminated the need for a church key or separate opener, sparking a major transformation in the canning industry.

Initial test marketing of the Iron City can took place in Staunton, Virginia in late 1962. Consumer reception was immediate and overwhelmingly positive: canned beer sales in the test territory more than doubled within two months. The overwhelming demand prompted the brewery to convert its primary packaging lines to the tab top design, resulting in canned sales tripling shortly after the rollout. Following Pittsburgh Brewing's commercial success, rival breweries across the country scrambled to adopt similar tops.

To capitalize on its packaging breakthrough, the brewery updated the can's graphics across multiple production runs. Early variations advertised the new closure with slogans such as "New Easy Open Snap Top," while subsequent variations highlighted the brewery's leadership with text reading "No. 1 with the Snap Top". The brewery was fiercely protective of the marketing term, even filing a lawsuit against regional rival Duquesne Brewing in 1963 over the use of the "Snap Top" name.

Today, this can remains one of the most historically significant artifacts in beer can collecting, representing the turning point that transformed modern canned beverage design.