Schlitz Beer Flat Top Can

1962 Los Angeles Schlitz Flat Top

This 12-ounce flat top beer can represents a transitional era in American beverage packaging, originating from 1962. It was filled at the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company's West Coast facility in Los Angeles, California. The can features the brand's classic slanted rhomboid panel bearing the bold script logo, accompanied by the belted globe trademark and the iconic slogan, "The Beer that made Milwaukee Famous."

Schlitz earned that renowned slogan after shipping thousands of barrels of free beer to Chicago following the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, securing nationwide goodwill and recognition. Marketed heavily as a premium national lager, Schlitz dominated the mid-20th-century market. During this era, its advertising celebrated classic brewing heritage and high quality, making it one of the top-selling beer brands in the world alongside rivals like Anheuser-Busch.

The Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company traces its beginnings back to 1849 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when August Krug opened a tavern brewery. Joseph Schlitz took over operations following Krug's death in the 1850s. Managed for generations by the Uihlein family, Schlitz expanded nationally after Prohibition. To meet soaring post-war demand in the West, the company opened a state-of-the-art facility in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles in 1954. Although Schlitz remained an industry powerhouse into the 1970s, brewing reformulations and corporate missteps led to a steep decline, ultimately culminating in its sale to the Stroh Brewery Company in 1982, with the brand rights later transferring to Pabst.

For breweriana collectors, early 1960s flat top cans hold a special place on the shelf. This 1962 issue stands right at the cusp of the canned beer revolution, just before self-opening pull tabs swept through the brewing industry and permanently replaced traditional flat tops. West Coast mandatory variations from the Los Angeles facility also provide geographic depth for collectors documenting the regional expansion of America's brewing titans.