Olympia Pale Export Type Beer Flat Top Can

Olympia Pale Export 11 oz Flat Top Can

This flat top can represents an iconic mid-century package from the Pacific Northwest, notable for its 11 fluid ounce volume—a regional sizing tradition closely linked to the West Coast market. The face of the can features Olympia's hallmark gold-and-cream motif centered around a horseshoe inscribed with "GOOD LUCK." Inside the horseshoe is an illustration of the Tumwater falls and railroad trestle, framed by barley sheaves and hop cones. Directly below the scenic emblem sits the brewery's legendary red slogan, "It's the Water", accompanied by an explanatory statement highlighting the purity and solvent properties of the local artesian spring water. The upper label clearly notes "Pale Export TYPE" in red script beneath the top rim.

Olympia Pale Export was the flagship brew that defined the company from its earliest years. Positioned as a crisp, exceptionally pure lager, the brand built its marketing identity entirely around the natural artesian wells discovered in Washington state. The famous tagline "It's the Water" was introduced around 1902 and became one of the most recognizable and enduring advertising slogans in American brewing history, driving the brand's immense regional popularity for decades.

German-trained brewmaster Leopold Schmidt founded the Capital Brewing Company in 1896 at the cascading falls of the Deschutes River in Tumwater, Washington. Recognizing the exceptional quality of the area's artesian water, Schmidt built a flourishing enterprise that was renamed the Olympia Brewing Company in 1902. Washington enacted statewide Prohibition early in 1916, forcing the brewery to pivot to fruit juices and industrial products. Following Repeal, the Schmidt family constructed a modern brewing facility at the Tumwater site. Olympia grew rapidly during the post-war era, eventually expanding its footprint across the American West before corporate consolidation led to acquisitions and the eventual closure of the historic Tumwater plant in 2003.

For breweriana enthusiasts, 11-ounce flat top cans from the Pacific Northwest represent a distinct and highly sought-after category. Olympia's combination of iconic scenic artwork, regional sizing, and quintessential mid-century typography makes this can an enduring staple of classic American beer can collecting.