Red White & Blue Special Lager Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Pabst Red White & Blue Special Lager

This all-aluminum tab top container for Red White & Blue Special Lager Beer captures a notable packaging transition for Pabst during the late 1970s. The catalog identifies this particular release by its five-city brewery mandatory listing, universal product code (UPC), metric liquid measure, and the word "BEER" set in bold capital letters beneath the flowing script of "Special Lager." The face of the can features bold diagonal red and blue ribbon striping across an off-white background, framed by the top "RWB" crest, the circular Pabst Breweries hop emblem in the lower left, and the historic notation "FIRST BREWED IN 1899."

Pabst originally debuted the Red White & Blue label in 1899 to commemorate the Fourth of July. After the repeal of Prohibition and continuing through the mid-to-late twentieth century, Pabst positioned the brand as a dependable, budget-friendly companion to its flagship Pabst Blue Ribbon. Marketed to working-class consumers under the long-running motto of providing honest beer for an honest price, the can prominently carries the brand statement: "The beer with the Natural American Taste. Brewed from premium American ingredients." The label remained a familiar sight in discount beer aisles for decades before fading from national distribution.

The history behind the can belongs to Pabst Brewing Company, established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1844 as the Empire Brewery by Jacob Best. Steered to national dominance by his son-in-law, former Great Lakes steamship captain Frederick Pabst, the brewery expanded into one of the country's largest beer producers before the turn of the century. Pabst weathered Prohibition by manufacturing cheese, soda, and malt syrup, emerging into the postwar era with substantial production capability and acquiring plants across multiple cities. Changing corporate ownership and fierce competition from rival national brewing giants challenged the company in the 1970s and 1980s, eventually resulting in the shuttering of its historic downtown Milwaukee facility in 1996.

For breweriana collectors, this can provides a vivid example of major mid-tier American lager packaging. The combination of classic patriotic motifs alongside modern retail additions—such as dual metric measurement and a printed barcode—makes it a key reference piece for enthusiasts tracking the graphic and regulatory shifts in Pabst's multi-plant canning history.