Olympia Light Beer Test Can

Olympia Light Beer Test Can

This all-aluminum, 12-ounce tab top container represents a mid-1970s test design produced for the Olympia Brewing Company of Tumwater, Washington. The label adapts the brewery's heritage imagery for a lower-calorie offering, placing the word "Light" in script above the bold, arched "OLYMPIA BEER" lettering. At the center sits the company's trademark golden horseshoe bearing "GOOD LUCK," enclosing an illustration of Tumwater Falls on the Deschutes River. Flanked by barley sprigs and hop blossoms set against a silhouette of evergreen trees, the lower face emphasizes the "TUMWATER" location, the volume statement, and the company's renowned slogan, "“It's the Water”".

As consumer preference shifted toward lighter, lower-calorie brews during the 1970s, regional breweries rapidly developed new products to stay competitive. Olympia Light was formulated to provide a lighter alternative without departing from the crisp profile associated with the flagship pale export lager. Advertising leaned heavily on the celebrated artesian water source that had defined the brewery's identity for generations. Although the light lager formulation became a regular part of the lineup, prototype and test can graphics underwent several refinements before standard retail designs were finalized.

The Olympia Brewing Company traces its roots to 1896, when German-born brewmaster Leopold Schmidt founded the Capital Brewing Company at the falls of the Deschutes River. Recognizing the pristine quality of the local artesian spring water, Schmidt adopted the slogan "It's the Water" and renamed the business the Olympia Brewing Company in 1902. The company survived statewide and national Prohibition by pivoting to non-alcoholic beverages and industrial enterprises before resuming brewing in 1933. Olympia grew into one of the largest brewing operations in the western United States, but intensifying consolidation eventually led to its purchase by Pabst, with operations at the historic Tumwater facility ending in 2003.

For breweriana collectors, test cans provide valuable insight into brewery marketing development and experimental pre-production art. Items representing the Pacific Northwest brewing tradition remain widely collected for their iconic regional artwork and historical significance.