Old Milwaukee Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Old Milwaukee Lehigh Valley Can

The 12-ounce Old Milwaukee tab top can brewed by The Stroh Brewery Company at its Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania facility represents a pivotal chapter in American brewing and packaging history. Originally established and popularized as a key brand under the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company, Old Milwaukee became a cornerstone of the Stroh portfolio during the major industry consolidations of the 1980s.

Stroh's path to producing Old Milwaukee in Pennsylvania began with its acquisition of the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company, which secured the modern Lehigh Valley production facility in Fogelsville. Shortly thereafter, Stroh completed an ambitious purchase of the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company, instantly propelling the Detroit-based brewer into the nation's third-largest brewing powerhouse. To maximize packaging efficiency, Stroh distributed Old Milwaukee canning operations across its newly expanded plant network, utilizing the Lehigh Valley location as a vital regional distribution point.

For breweriana collectors, the Lehigh Valley mandatory line is a prominent hallmark of this corporate transition. The can maintained the established Old Milwaukee visual branding—marked by its bold script, rich red accents, and classic crest—while updating the side-panel manufacturing credits to reflect The Stroh Brewery Company and its Pennsylvania facility. Known variations exist across different production runs, featuring subtle differences in side-panel city listings, mandatory text formatting, UPC barcodes, and metric volume notations. These design shifts make the Lehigh Valley Stroh issue an interesting artifact of twentieth-century American brewing realignments.