Schlitz Beer Test Can

1968 Schlitz Aluminum Test Can

This 12-ounce experimental container represents the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company's late-1960s exploration of advanced beverage packaging. Produced in 1968, the vessel is constructed from two-piece drawn aluminum and fitted with a zip top opening. What immediately commands attention is its distinctive physical geometry: unlike the standard straight-walled cylinders of the period, this prototype features a prominent necked-in top shoulder and an unusual stepped, pedestal-style taper along the bottom base. Lithographed with a 1968 copyright line denoting Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the exterior displays the classic Schlitz globe emblem flanked by delicate scrollwork near the upper shoulder, a central metallic band framing the tilted maroon rhombus logo, and the script motto, "The Beer that made Milwaukee Famous."

Schlitz was established as one of the premier American lager brands of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Prominently marketed across the country, Schlitz built immense prestige on memorable promotional campaigns, most notably declaring itself "The Beer that made Milwaukee Famous" and later asserting, "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer." Throughout the mid-twentieth century, the flagship brew rivaled Budweiser for the title of best-selling beer in the United States. Following brand turbulence and production alterations during the 1970s, the Schlitz label eventually passed to the Stroh Brewery Company and later Pabst Brewing Company, which subsequently revived the brand's classic mid-century formulation.

The Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company originated in 1849 when August Krug opened a small brewing operation in Milwaukee. Following Krug’s death, bookkeeper Joseph Schlitz assumed management in 1858 and gave the firm his name. The brewery surged into national prominence after sending generous relief shipments of beer southward in the wake of the devastating 1871 Great Chicago Fire. Surviving Prohibition by marketing non-alcoholic malt tonics and food ingredients, Schlitz expanded dramatically after World War II, establishing modern production facilities nationwide. Although industry shifts and labor disputes led to its eventual sale in 1982, Schlitz remains a fundamental pillar of American brewing history.

Prototypes and developmental test cans from the packaging transition of the late 1960s hold substantial significance for breweriana enthusiasts. Because they capture a moment when major brewers and metal manufacturers were actively refining two-piece aluminum fabrication and can-necking techniques, these experimental vessels are prized as artifacts of industrial design history.