Old German Brand Premium Lager Beer 16 Oz Tab Top Can

Old German 16 Oz Stay Top Can

The Can

This 16-ounce pint container for Old German Brand Premium Lager Beer features drawn and ironed crimped steel construction fitted with a stay-top opening mechanism. Produced with a prominent UPC barcode on the side panel, the label design incorporates the brand's classic diagonal banner presentation along with its recognized motto, "The World Knows No Finer". The upper quadrant showcases the brand's Bavarian mascot, "Herman the German," depicted in traditional lederhosen and feathered hat, pointing forward while raising a foaming glass. Mandatory text at the base credits production to the Pittsburgh Brewing Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The Brand

Old German originated as a heritage regional lager known for delivering traditional German-style brewing at an approachable, budget-friendly price point. Positioned around straightforward craftsmanship and value, marketing for the brand highlighted its cheerful mascot and long-running promotional tagline. Over the decades, rights to the label shifted among regional brewers before finding a lasting home in Pennsylvania, where it remained a dependable staple in regional value beer portfolios.

The Brewery

Pittsburgh Brewing Company traces its beginnings to 1861 when German immigrant Edward Frauenheim established the Iron City Brewery in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood. In 1899, Iron City merged with twenty other local breweries to form the Pittsburgh Brewing Company, becoming one of the largest brewing operations in the United States. The brewery survived Prohibition by producing soft drinks, near-beer, and ice, later re-emerging as an industrial powerhouse. Renowned for packaging innovations throughout the twentieth century, Pittsburgh Brewing anchored western Pennsylvania's brewing identity through decades of national industry consolidation.

Collecting Context

Tall 16-ounce "pounder" cans represent a dedicated focus area among breweriana enthusiasts, capturing packaging transitions from pull tabs to modern stay-on tabs. Collectors value regional budget brands from historic industrial breweries for their mid-century graphic heritage, distinctive mascot imagery, and catalog variations that mark key shifts in steel can fabrication.