Pabst Blue Ribbon Bock Flat Top Can

Pabst Blue Ribbon Bock Flat Top

This flat top can represents a seasonal release of Pabst Blue Ribbon Bock from the mid-twentieth century, issued with the Los Angeles, California plant designation alongside a mandatory text listing four brewing cities. While retaining the brand's classic white background and diagonal red sash, the top of the can features a distinctive red header reading "bock beer" framed by stylized red goat heads—the traditional heraldic symbol of German bock brewing. The lower portion of the face displays the circular brewery crest marking the company's establishment in 1844.

Pabst traces the origins of its flagship Blue Ribbon name to the late nineteenth century. Originally marketed as Best Select, brewery president Captain Frederick Pabst began tying blue silk ribbons around the necks of his award-winning beer bottles in 1882. After earning top honors at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the ribbon motif became the product's primary identity, and the beverage was officially renamed Pabst Blue Ribbon in 1898. To complement its flagship pale lager, Pabst brewed seasonal bock beer—a richer, darker German-style lager released in limited distribution during the late winter and early spring.

The brewery was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1844 by Jacob Best as the Empire Brewery. Under the guidance of former steamship captain Frederick Pabst, who joined the business after marrying into the Best family, the operation grew into one of the country's most prolific brewing enterprises. Following the repeal of Prohibition, Pabst decentralized its nationwide production, acquiring facilities across the country, including Newark, Peoria Heights, and the former Los Angeles Brewing Company facility in California in 1948.

Within breweriana collecting, seasonal bock cans from large national brewers hold widespread appeal. Because bock was packaged in strictly limited batches during a brief seasonal window, significantly fewer bock cans were produced compared to standard year-round lagers. Collectors of West Coast breweriana and Pabst label variations actively seek out examples carrying the Los Angeles manufacturing credits.