Quittin' Time Premium Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Pearl's Quittin' Time Tab Top Can

This 12-ounce aluminum tab top can holds a notable place in breweriana history as the inaugural container produced for the QuikTrip convenience store chain's proprietary house beer line. Dating to the late 1970s, the can displays the retailer's bold "QT" emblem framed inside a red cartouche below the arched product title, cleanly uniting corporate identity with commercial beverage packaging.

QuikTrip introduced Quittin' Time in 1977 to offer an exclusive, economical private-label brew across its store network. The brand name arose spontaneously from an end-of-day office farewell among company executives, cleverly transforming the store's familiar "QT" initials into an appealing slogan targeted at workers stopping for a cold drink after their shift. Promoted heavily through regional advertising, the brand established a loyal following across convenience coolers before changing retail strategies and advertising costs prompted its discontinuation in the early 1990s.

The beer was produced and packaged under contract by the Pearl Brewing Company in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 1883 as the City Brewery (later reorganized as the San Antonio Brewing Association), the company navigated Prohibition by operating as the Alamo Foods Company, manufacturing soft drinks, ice, and near beer. Formally renamed Pearl Brewing Company in 1952, the operation developed into a regional brewing powerhouse. By the 1970s, Pearl took extensive advantage of its packaging infrastructure to serve as a major contract brewer for novelty brews and private labels. Following industry consolidation and an eventual corporate transition under Pabst, the historic San Antonio brewing plant closed its doors in 2001.

Among collectors, this can holds strong crossover appeal. It bridges conventional breweriana with convenience store and petroliana memorabilia, standing out as a prime artifact from the golden era of regional retail contract brewing.