Iron City Premium Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

The Dawn of the Snap Top Can

The Iron City Premium Beer 12 oz tab top can holds a monumental place in beverage packaging history. In 1962, the Pittsburgh Brewing Company collaborated with the Pittsburgh-based Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) to commercialize an aluminum self-opening lid concept developed by inventor Ermal Fraze. Through this partnership, Iron City became the very first beer brand in the world to commercially release a pull-tab can.

Initial test marketing of the new format began in Staunton, Virginia, in September 1962. Consumer reception was overwhelmingly positive; sales in the test area rapidly doubled, leading Pittsburgh Brewing Company to transition its full canned beer production to the tab top design. By the following year, the brewery reported that its canned beer sales had tripled, prompting breweries nationwide to quickly license and adopt the closure.

To capitalize on this breakthrough, Pittsburgh Brewing printed special promotional text directly onto the label, heralding slogans such as "New Easy Open Snap Top" and "No. 1 with the Snap Top". Known variations exist among collectors, exhibiting minor changes in top lid stamping, score lines, and instructional wording as Alcoa and the brewery iterated on the design. Originating from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this can marks the defining turning point that reshaped the modern canned beverage industry.