Pabst Export Beer Flat Top Can

Pabst Export TapaCan Flat Top

Manufactured during the mid-1930s Premier-Pabst Corporation era, this flat top exemplifies the earliest era of commercial beer canning. The container displays the proprietary "TapaCan" trademark in the upper right, a branding designation secured through the American Can Company to market beer packaged in metal. In the upper left, the label features the phrase "12 FL. OZ. SAME AS BOTTLE," a consumer reassurance note intended to convince shoppers that the compact metal can contained the exact same volume as standard glass bottles. As an opening instruction can bearing an Internal Revenue Tax Paid statement, this example is classified under reference number 645 in Jim Lilek's comprehensive catalog. It is distinguished by the central circular emblem bearing the wording "PABST MILWAUKEE" around the hop insignia, while omitting the "COOL BEFORE SERVING" text found on alternative production runs.

Export was one of the brewery's primary flagship lines both prior to Prohibition and immediately following Repeal in 1933. When canned beer emerged in 1935, Premier-Pabst selected Export as the vanguard brand to roll out the new packaging format nationally. Promoted extensively through newspaper spreads, transit placards, and national advertising campaigns emphasizing tamper-proof containment and brewery freshness, Export led the company's retail marketing push. Over subsequent years, the brewery transitioned its focus toward its celebrated blue-ribbon iconography, eventually phasing Export into the enduring Pabst Blue Ribbon banner.

The brewery traces its roots to 1844, when Jacob Best founded the Empire Brewery in Milwaukee. Following the arrival and leadership of Captain Frederick Pabst, who married into the Best family, the enterprise adopted the Pabst Brewing Company name in 1889 and grew into one of Milwaukee's brewing powerhouses. During Prohibition, the firm survived by manufacturing malt syrup, near-beer, and processed cheese, before merging with Peoria's Premier Malt Products in 1932 to form the Premier-Pabst Corporation. After reverting back to the Pabst Brewing Company name in 1938, the brewer expanded throughout the mid-20th century before facing industry consolidation that ultimately resulted in the shuttering of its historic Milwaukee plant in 1996.

Opening instruction cans from the 1930s hold a foundational place in breweriana collecting. As an artifact from the first wave of national flat top distribution, early Pabst TapaCans document a major technological turning point in brewing history. Variations in city listings, regulatory tax statements, and brewery corporate names make these early instructional cans essential reference pieces for hobbyists.