Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer 12 Oz Tab/Flat Top Can

Pabst Blue Ribbon 5-City 12 Oz Can

This twelve-ounce drawn and ironed container represents a distinct production run of Pabst Blue Ribbon featuring a straight bottom profile. Its mandatory statement along the lower rim reflects Pabst's multi-plant footprint, listing Newark, New Jersey, alongside Milwaukee, Peoria Heights, and other regional facilities. While cataloged primarily with pull-tab lids, specimens are also documented with flat top configurations. Visually, the can presents the classic Pabst design: a prominent red diagonal slash crossing a white background, flanked by the small Pabst Breweries crest and anchored by the central blue ribbon rosette. Above the emblem, label text proclaims "Established in Milwaukee 1844" and notes the beer was "Selected as America's Best in 1893."

Originally introduced as Best Select, the flagship lager earned numerous awards at nineteenth-century industrial expositions. In 1882, the brewery began hand-tying blue silk ribbons around each bottle neck to distinguish the product. Following widespread acclaim at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, consumer demand for the "blue ribbon beer" prompted the brewery to officially register the Pabst Blue Ribbon name in 1898. Promoted over the decades with memorable advertising slogans such as "What'll you have?" and "The quality always comes through," the brand cemented its place as an enduring staple of American brewing.

The brewery traces its origins to 1844, when Jacob Best established the Empire Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Under the guidance of Captain Frederick Pabst, the enterprise grew into the nation's largest brewing company by the late nineteenth century. Pabst weathered Prohibition by producing malt syrup, soft drinks, and cheese spread before re-entering commercial brewing upon repeal in 1933. In the post-World War II period, Pabst expanded nationally by operating plants in Newark, Peoria Heights, Los Angeles, and Georgia.

For breweriana enthusiasts, Pabst Blue Ribbon cans provide a detailed record of twentieth-century packaging technology and corporate growth. Collectors focus closely on the variations in mandatory plant listings, lid types, and bottom rims, which chart the evolution of nationwide distribution during the height of the major regional brewing conglomerates.