Schaefer America's Oldest Lager Beer 12 Oz Zip Top Can

Schaefer America's Oldest Lager

The Schaefer America's Oldest Lager Beer 12 Oz Zip Top Can is a classic piece of East Coast brewing history, issued by the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company of New York, NY. Founded by German immigrant brothers Frederick and Maximilian Schaefer, the brewery built its identity around bringing traditional lager brewing to the United States. That heritage is proudly displayed across the label with the prominent banner proclaiming the brew as "America's Oldest Lager Beer".

For breweriana collectors, this container represents a key era for the historic New York brewing powerhouse. During the height of its regional dominance, Schaefer became an advertising giant, known for its ubiquitous presence across radio, television, and sports venues—including sponsoring major league baseball broadcasts and eventually lending its name to New England's Schaefer Stadium.

The can's graphic design showcases the traditional Schaefer script logo, the brewery's trademark heraldic crest, and metallic background tones that made the brand instantly recognizable on retail shelves. Variations of this can exist among collectors, featuring subtle differences in mandatory text placement, canning codes, and city designations depending on the canning line and facility utilized during its distribution run.

Because the F. & M. Schaefer brand eventually changed ownership and shifted production away from its historical New York roots, early New York-attributed cans remain focal pieces for collectors specializing in metropolitan brewing history and vintage American packaging.