Schaefer Beer 16 Oz Tab Top Can

Schaefer Lehigh Valley Pint Can

The Schaefer 16 oz tab top can from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, represents a notable chapter in packaging history for the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company. Originally established in New York in 1842 by brothers Maximillian and Frederick Schaefer, the company built its identity around its status as America's earliest continuous lager brewer. To scale up distribution and compete against expanding national brewing conglomerates, Schaefer opened a large, automated production facility in the Lehigh Valley region.

This one-pint container features Schaefer's recognizable red-and-white heraldic crest, signature script lettering, and the classic "America's Oldest Lager Beer" tagline. The 16 oz pint size served as a prominent option in regional stadiums, taverns, and retail outlets throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets.

For breweriana collectors, cans bearing the Lehigh Valley mandatory line document Schaefer's major manufacturing shift away from its metropolitan New York roots. Variations exist among production runs, showing differences in side-panel city listings—often grouping Lehigh Valley alongside Baltimore or New York—as well as minor shifts in canning plant identifier stamps, metal composition, and seam fabrication. The Lehigh Valley plant itself became a lasting fixture in American industrial brewing, later changing ownership to Stroh, Diageo, and ultimately the Boston Beer Company.