Pabst Export Beer Flat Top Can

Premier-Pabst Export Beer Flat Top

Produced by the Premier-Pabst Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this 12-ounce flat top can dates to the pioneering opening instruction era of the mid-1930s. Cataloged in Kevin Lilek's reference work on instructional cans under entry 642, the container carries an alternate tax statement format alongside early consumer guidance, including the advisory "COOL BEFORE SERVING" along the base and "12 FL. OZ. SAME AS BOTTLE" printed near the upper rim. The front displays the circular emblem reading "PABST MILWAUKEE" encircling the company's traditional hop leaf insignia, balanced at the upper right by American Can Company's "Keglined TapaCan" trademark.

Pabst began packaging its Export Beer in cans in August 1935, making the company the second American brewing operation to commercially embrace the format. Marketed vigorously under the "TapaCan" moniker, advertising campaigns introduced the container with slogans like "Brewery Goodness Sealed Right In" and claimed "All beers are not sisters under the tin". Because canned beer was entirely new to consumers, promotional messaging worked hard to normalize the format by emphasizing internal can linings and volume parity with glass bottles. As the late 1930s progressed, the brewery transitioned the brand name to Pabst Blue Ribbon Export before eventually retiring the Export moniker in favor of its flagship Blue Ribbon marque.

The brewery traces its roots to 1844, when Jacob Best established the Empire Brewery in Milwaukee. Under the leadership of Captain Frederick Pabst, who married into the Best family, the enterprise grew rapidly and took the Pabst Brewing Company name in 1889. The company weathered Prohibition by shifting production to near-beer, malt syrups, and processed cheeses. On the cusp of repeal in late 1932, Pabst merged with the Premier Malt Products Company of Peoria, Illinois, doing business as the Premier-Pabst Corporation until reverting to the classic Pabst Brewing Company name in 1938. Pabst went on to become an American brewing juggernaut before closing its Milwaukee plant in 1996 and transitioning into a heritage brewing firm.

For collectors, this can stands as a historic artifact from the opening chapter of the canned beer industry. Featuring both the short-lived Premier-Pabst corporate imprint and the notable TapaCan branding, it reflects the early design solutions that helped establish metal packaging as a lasting fixture in American brewing history.