Pabst Blue Ribbon Export Beer Flat Top Can

Pabst Blue Ribbon Export Flat Top

This 12-ounce flat top can represents an early chapter in canned beer packaging, originating from the initial opening-instruction era. Produced by Pabst from its Peoria Heights facility, this container is documented in prominent breweriana reference guides such as the Lilek catalog. It is distinguished by mandatory text listing two production cities and an illustrated opening panel featuring a prominent red church key can-opener diagram. Because consumer beer canning was still a new technology, early steel cans required explicit pictorial instructions on the side panel to teach consumers how to properly pierce the lid.

Pabst Blue Ribbon traces its lineage to the mid-19th century when the brewery's flagship beer, originally known as Best Select, earned major awards at world fairs and expositions. In 1882, the brewery began hand-tying blue silk ribbons around each bottle neck to celebrate these accolades, leading to the official adoption of the Pabst Blue Ribbon name in 1898. Positioned as a flagship American export lager, the brand became a cultural fixture, driven by mid-century advertising slogans like "33 Fine Brews Blended into One Great Beer" and the famous query "What'll You Have?"

The brewing enterprise began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1844 under Jacob Best and grew into a national powerhouse under the direction of Captain Frederick Pabst. To navigate the repeal of Prohibition, the company merged with Peoria-based Premier Malt Products, leading to operations under the Premier-Pabst corporate identity and the opening of a major brewing complex in Peoria Heights, Illinois, in 1934. The Peoria Heights plant expanded over subsequent decades into a massive facility employing hundreds of workers, anchoring regional distribution until shifting industry dynamics led to the plant's closure in 1982.

For breweriana collectors, early opening-instruction flat tops represent a foundational milestone in packaging history. Cans showcasing colored opener diagrams—such as the red opener variation—are especially prized by enthusiasts of pre-war and early post-Prohibition brewing artifacts.