Schlitz Beer Pint Can

1962 Schlitz Softop Pint Can

This 16-fluid-ounce pint can dates to 1962 and represents a notable transitional period in American beverage packaging. The face of the container prominently features a circular emblem promoting the "easy opening ALUMINUM SOFTOP" with an arrow directing the consumer toward the top lid. Paired with the iconic slanted Schlitz script banner, the globe trademark, and the famous slogan "The Beer that made Milwaukee Famous," the design reflects the company's nationwide production footprint, which included its branch brewing operations in Kansas City, Missouri.

Schlitz built its formidable national reputation during the late nineteenth century, particularly after supplying hundreds of barrels of drinking water and beer to Chicago following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Positioned as a premier American lager, Schlitz utilized pervasive advertising campaigns and widespread distribution to become a dominant household name throughout the mid-twentieth century, competing vigorously for the title of America's best-selling beer.

The brewery traced its beginnings to 1849 when August Krug established a small brewery in Milwaukee. Following Krug's death, bookkeeper Joseph Schlitz took over operations and renamed the company after himself. After Schlitz was lost at sea in 1875, management passed to the Uihlein family, who oversaw decades of exponential expansion. The enterprise survived Prohibition by producing cereal beverages, malt syrups, and baker's yeast before returning to standard brewing upon repeal in 1933. To expand capacity outside Wisconsin after World War II, Schlitz purchased the historic George Muehlebach Brewing Company facility in Kansas City in 1956, brewing there until 1973 before the corporate entity was ultimately absorbed by Stroh in 1982.

For collectors of vintage breweriana, 16-ounce pint flats hold strong appeal due to their larger display footprint compared to standard 12-ounce cans. Examples bearing the early 1960s "Softop" marketing graphics are especially valued because they capture an era of rapid industrial innovation when breweries began testing and integrating aluminum components into commercial canning lines.