Old Milwaukee Genuine Draft Test Can

1972 Old Milwaukee Draft Test Can

Issued under the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company banner, this 12-ounce straight steel tab top container was produced as an experimental test design for Old Milwaukee Genuine Draft. Associated with the brewer's Longview, Texas plant, the can carries a 1972 date and features a two-city brewery mandatory statement.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Schlitz actively explored draft-style packaging concepts across regional markets. The Longview facility, which opened in the mid-1960s to serve the southern and southwestern United States, regularly participated in trial pressings and test marketing alongside the primary Milwaukee operations. These test runs allowed the brewery to evaluate label graphics, trade dress variations, and mandatory city listings prior to wide distribution.

Test issues from the Old Milwaukee Genuine Draft developmental runs remain historical artifacts documenting how major American regional breweries refined their brand identities and product labeling during the tab top era.