Schlitz Beer Test Can

1976 Schlitz Beer Test Can

This 12-ounce aluminum tab top can is an experimental test can dating to 1976 from the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company. During the mid-1970s, Schlitz evaluated multiple prospective package designs and branding concepts, producing sample runs to gauge aesthetic impact and market appeal before committing to wide-scale distribution. The label draws heavily upon the company's historical visual identity, featuring the classic belted world globe trademark above ornamental scrollwork, an ingredient pledge highlighting hops, rice, and barley, and a prominent banner noting "Established in 1849 a premium beer." A 1976 copyright notice along the lower margin accompanies multi-city brewery plant listings.

Schlitz was positioned as a flagship American lager, famously adopting the enduring slogan "The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous" after providing rail shipments of beer and water to Chicago following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Throughout the mid-20th century, the brand dominated national tavern taps and grocery shelves, supported by prominent ad campaigns boasting taglines such as "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer." Cost-cutting recipe alterations in the mid-1970s severely damaged consumer loyalty, leading to market share decline and eventual acquisition by the Stroh Brewery Company and later the Pabst Brewing Company.

The Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company originated in 1849 when August Krug established a small brewery and restaurant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Following Krug's death, brewery bookkeeper Joseph Schlitz took control of the enterprise and married Krug's widow. Under the leadership of Schlitz and later the Uihlein family, the brewery expanded into an industrial giant. It navigated Prohibition by producing near beer, malt syrup, and confections before quickly reclaiming its position as an industry leader upon repeal. At its peak, Schlitz vied for the title of the largest brewer in the United States before late-twentieth-century consolidation led to the shuttering of its historic Milwaukee plant.

Test cans from the 1970s hold special significance for breweriana enthusiasts, serving as direct artifacts of corporate packaging design and marketing strategies that never entered standard commercial circulation. These prototype designs document the visual transition of a legendary American brewery attempting to revitalize its legacy branding.