Old Okoboji Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Old Okoboji Beer Stay Top Can

Brewed by the August Schell Brewing Company in New Ulm, Minnesota, Old Okoboji Beer was commissioned as a specialty regional release celebrating one of Iowa's most famous vacation destinations, Lake Okoboji and the Arnolds Park amusement district. Featuring the subtitle "Iowa's Summer Funland," the can was introduced in 1979 and sold locally at venues around the lake, including the Old Okoboji Saloon.

The can was produced during the late 1970s commemorative beer can craze, an era when local attractions, festivals, and novelty establishments partnered with historic regional breweries like Schell's to produce custom-branded souvenir cans. Because Iowa enacted mandatory beverage container deposit laws shortly after its introduction, the original non-deposit cans had a relatively short commercial distribution window.

Reference documentation catalogs this straight-steel issue with a stay-top closure. While older collector records previously noted a pull-tab variation, that specific variant remains unconfirmed without documented photographic evidence. The can remains an engaging crossover collectible bridging Minnesota brewing history and Iowa lakeside resort culture.