Old Milwaukee Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

1975 Winston-Salem Old Milwaukee

This 12 oz aluminum tab top can was manufactured for the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company's Winston-Salem, North Carolina facility in 1975. During this era, Schlitz operated major regional breweries across the United States and utilized standardized packaging layouts that listed multiple brewing locations on the mandatory text panel.

To identify which plant packaged the beer without requiring entirely separate label print runs for each facility, Schlitz employed a city-dot designation system. On this tall aluminum container, six brewing cities are listed on the mandatory panel, with a small identification dot printed directly above Winston-Salem (abbreviated as W-S).

The can also features a Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode. The mid-1970s marked the rapid rollout of UPC scanning technology in American grocery retail, making cans from 1975 key transitional pieces in packaging history as breweries began integrating barcodes into their established graphic layouts.

Collectors of Schlitz and Old Milwaukee breweriana track several regional variations of this label. Related issues differ based on which city in the multi-city list bears the factory dot, variations in seam construction, metric volume notations, and the presence or placement of the UPC barcode. As an aluminum issue from the North Carolina plant, it provides a clear record of mid-1970s packaging standardization and national distribution strategies.