Schlitz Beer 16 Oz Zip Top Can

Schlitz 16 Oz Zip Top Pint Can

Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, played a central role in modern beverage packaging history when it partnered with Alcoa to introduce aluminum easy-open ends to the mass market. The 16-ounce "Tall Boy" format paired Schlitz's massive national distribution with this landmark shift in can manufacturing.

Packaging Design and Branding

Schlitz helped popularize the 16-ounce pint can format in the United States, giving consumers a larger single-serve alternative to the standard 12-ounce container. The 16-ounce zip top can showcases the classic Schlitz visual identity, framed around the iconic belted rhomboid logo and the historic tagline, "The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous." The expanded surface area of the pint size offered ample space for the bold mid-century typography and brewery mandatory text.

Collector Variations

For breweriana collectors, the 16-ounce Schlitz zip top represents an essential milestone in the evolution of pull-tab can manufacturing. Multiple variations of this can exist among collectors. Because Schlitz operated several packaging facilities throughout the country to keep pace with demand, cans carry different mandatory brewery location lines reflecting where they were filled. Further production variations can be found in the manufacturer marks from various can makers, subtle seam construction differences, and top lid stamping scripts.